


Changes: Scenes from My Life with Sheldon Cooper

by Julesmonster



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: M/M, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-05-22
Packaged: 2017-12-10 17:38:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 42,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/788351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julesmonster/pseuds/Julesmonster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of Sheldon and Leonard, from their first date until they have reached the ripe old age of 68. Each chapter deals with a major event in their life together. There are funny moments and romantic moments and moments that might bring a small tear to your eye. SLASH. Sheldon/Leonard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One: A Date or Not a Date?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> A/N: So, I love Big Bang Theory, but there just aren't many Sheldon/Leonard stories out there. Therefore I felt it was my duty to come up with a nice long fic to fill the gap. I hope you enjoy this light and loving story of two of my favorite geeks. (I am such a sucker for geeky boys!) There are 14 chapters and I'll post one each day. Jules

 

**Part One: A Date or Not a Date?**

The apartment was dark when I entered and I assumed that Sheldon had already gone to bed for the night. It was, after all, well past his designated bedtime. I quietly set my keys into the bowl beside the door and flicked on a light before heading over to the kitchen. I had been working extra-long hours on an experiment that had the potential be a very big breakthrough in particle physics. As Sheldon put it: I was finally doing some original work rather than replicating other people's experiments. In his own strange whack-a-doodle way, I could tell that he was proud of me. The fact that he rarely criticized my hypothesis or my methodology was a pretty good indication that he at least approved.

The long hours, however, were beginning to catch up with me. I started my days in the lab by 7 at the latest and rarely got to come home before midnight. And I was working 7 days a week to make sure that there were no unexpected hiccups in the routine that would negatively influence the outcome. After all, I only had access to the very expensive laser equipment necessary to complete the experiment for two months before it had to be returned to NASA and I only had a small team of doctoral students to help me.

That particular night, I had been working almost non-stop for about 6 weeks. I wasn't just physically tired; I was mentally exhausted and I missed my friends. Other than stealing ten minutes for lunch every day, I hadn't really seen or spent any time with them since the experiment began. It was weird, but when I had a few minutes of downtime and the lab was quiet, I found that it wasn't Penny that I missed the most. It wasn't Raj or Howard. No, weirdly enough, I actually missed Sheldon more than any of my other friends.

In the kitchen, I set the electric kettle to boil and then grabbed my favorite mug from the shelf by the sink. I was pretty surprised when I looked in the tea canister to find that it had been refilled since the night before. I was sure that there had only been a couple bags left of my favorite blend. The water boiled and I poured the water into the mug with the bag and let it steep for a few minutes while I got the carton of almond milk from the refrigerator. Again, I was surprised to find that the almost empty carton had been replaced by a brand new carton.

The thought that Sheldon might have gone grocery shopping was absurd. Perhaps Penny had restocked for us? But that seemed unlikely since Sheldon had mentioned over lunch the other day that she had been scarce lately. It appeared she had gotten a role in a play and was spending most of her time either at rehearsals or at the Cheesecake Factory. Besides, I was pretty sure that Penny never paid attention to the kind of lactose-free milk-alternative I preferred, or to my favorite blend of tea, since I only drank tea at night before bed. It hadn't been something that had come up during the brief time the two of us had dated.

As I sipped my tea, I sat on the chair in the living area and contemplated things. Since taking on this experiment, my schedule had been absolutely insane. That was tough on me, but it was even harder on Sheldon. And yet Sheldon hadn't complained about the changes in his routine. In fact, he hadn't even whined about needing a ride once in the past six weeks. I knew that Rajesh was actually giving him rides to and from the university. I also knew that Raj and Howard had been spending less time at the apartment without me there to mediate. I knew that they cared about Sheldon, but I also knew that they didn't have the patience to deal with Sheldon's idiosyncratic tendencies without someone else there to run interference.

Which begged the question: how was Sheldon surviving? His routine had been thoroughly upended and he had basically been left to his own devices. That was a scary thought, and yet he seemed to be coping well if our brief exchanges over lunch were any indication. In fact, he had seemed more interested in my work than I could ever remember him being in the past. We actually discussed the topic often and with very little condescension from my roommate.

As I looked around the apartment, however, I began to notice certain things that were slightly out of place. There were action figures on the shelves that had been moved slightly, as if they had been picked up and placed back on the shelf. And on the arm of the sofa, the end that was Sheldon's proclaimed spot, was my favorite hoodie sweatshirt. On the end table, there was a new framed photo, one that Penny had taken a few months ago of me and Sheldon at Disneyland. Once we had gotten past the rough ending to our relationship, Penny and I had begun taking Sheldon to Disneyland at least every few months together. We looked really happy in that photo, Sheldon with his Mickey ears and me with a Donald Duck t-shirt.

I'm not a dumb man, despite Sheldon's frequent insults, but it took me a few minutes of serious contemplation to come to the conclusion that Sheldon missed me. Occam's Razor be damned; this was Sheldon! I had to go through and eliminate every other possible scenario before I could accept that the easiest solution was the correct one. Sheldon missed me and had touched my collectibles. He had pilfered my hoodie to be closer to me in some way. He had stared at a photo of the two of us. He had even braved the wilds of a grocery store so that I could have my nightly cup of tea.

Not only did I miss Sheldon, but Sheldon missed me. That night was the first hint that my world was about to be turned upside down.

 

**SLSLSLSLSL**

The last two weeks in the lab seemed to fly by quickly after that. My experiment was successful and I was left to write up the results in the days that followed. I had spent that last two weeks in the lab thinking over what exactly my late-night revelation meant in the grand scheme of things, but couldn't really come up with a viable hypothesis. So I stopped trying to rationalize it and simply put it out of my mind as much as possible

Even so, I wasn't fully prepared to face Sheldon once I was finally free to return to our normal routines. The first day off I had gotten in two months was a Thursday and I wasn't looking forward to it at all. Somehow, things had changed between me and Sheldon when I wasn't looking and suddenly facing him was a frightening thought. I didn't know what had changed, but I was sure that it had. And for all of the teasing I did whenever Sheldon balked at change, I wasn't much better in reality. I liked the status quo.

I slept later than usual that morning, something I was surprised that Sheldon allowed. Normally, he would be at my door knocking three times and calling my name over and over until I dragged my tired ass from bed to drive him to work. On this day, however, Sheldon refrained and I slept until afternoon. When I did finally emerge, it was to find Sheldon sitting at his computer. He must have decided to work from home. It didn't happen often, but often enough for me not to be too surprised to see him there on a weekday. He greeted me absently without ever looking up from whatever he was doing, so I headed for the kitchen to look for food. I was partially relieved and partially hurt that he hadn't dropped everything for me after so long.

"There's not much to choose from in there," Sheldon said, startling me from my perusal of the refrigerator. "You haven't been around to shop."

"Right," I sighed as I closed the fridge door. "I know it isn't scheduled, but how about we order in pizza?"

Sheldon closed his computer and swiveled his chair to face me. "Actually, I had thought we might go out. We have not had time to—what is the colloquial term? Ah yes—'catch up' in quite some time. I have done some research and found that there is an afternoon matinee of the first X-Men movie playing at the Dresden Theater. While they do not serve icees, they do sell red vines and I suppose I can make a concession on this solitary occasion in celebration of the fact that your time is no longer dictated by your experiment. Also, as the theater is in close proximity to the Cheesecake Factory, so I propose eating lunch there as it won't conflict with pizza night later this evening."

I grinned at my roommate. He really was stepping out of his comfort zone. "Yeah, okay. That's sounds great. Just let me shower and get dressed."

Sheldon nodded distractedly and I knew I had been dismissed, so I headed for the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, we were heading out. Sheldon was wearing a new t-shirt—yellow with slash marks denoting Wolverine's claws—over a green and blue shirt and jeans. If I didn't know any better I would say that he had dressed up for the occasion. He had certainly deviated from his normal clothing rotation.

"Hey guys!"

Penny met us on the landing and I gave her a bright smile. I had missed her. "Hey Penny! Long time no see. How's the play going?"

"It's actually pretty great," Penny enthused. "At least it isn't over a bowling alley this time. Where are you two off to?"

Sheldon glared at her with narrowed eyes. "Leonard and I are going to lunch and to a matinee. You are not invited."

Penny gave Sheldon the look she always gave him when he was being particularly rude for no discernible reason before turning to me. "Well, you guys have fun. We definitely need to catch up, Leonard. You can tell me all about your big experiment... well, you can tell me if it worked or not. And I can tell you about the play."

"Sounds good," I said.

"We have to leave if we are to have enough time to properly digest our lunch before reaching the theater," Sheldon said impatiently. He was practically dancing on the balls of his feet. "Otherwise I will be too replete to fully enjoy my red vines."

I let Sheldon drag me toward the stairs, giving Penny a small wave as we went. She smiled and waved back.

The afternoon went well. Sheldon only complained once to the management at the Cheesecake Factory because they refused to call Penny in just to wait on our table. And his rant to the theater manager about the lack of icee machine lasted a mere three minutes. Sheldon was obviously on his best behavior, though I wasn't entirely sure why.

When we arrived back at the apartment, Sheldon turned to me outside the apartment door and said, "I had a nice time today, Leonard."

I wasn't sure what was happening, but I smiled at him and said, "I had a nice time, too."

Sheldon gave me a small, brief smile which I knew from experience was the quintessence of Sheldon's ability to express happiness, though rarely seen by anyone but Sheldon's closest friends and his family. This smile differed greatly from the forced and almost manic one that he used when he felt social convention called for a smile. "Then we should do this again. Perhaps on Saturday?"

"Well, I guess that would work," I said with a confused smile. Sheldon really was breaking from his routine and I couldn't quite figure out why.

"We are not inviting Koothrapali or Wolowitz," Sheldon said as he finally entered the apartment. "Or Penny."

I shrugged as I set my keys into the bowl. "Whatever. I don't think they'll mind."

Sheldon went on as if I hadn't spoken. "I thought we might go to see the Pasadena Pops at the Arboretum. They are playing music from the _Lord of the Rings_ movies. We could order a picnic dinner."

"Yeah, that sounds great," I told him. "But are you sure you'll eat the food from any of the restaurants that deliver there?"

Sheldon nodded. "I checked their menus online and researched their records with the health department. I'll place the order for both of us, if you tell me what you would like." He pulled up the picnic menu from his bookmarked sites and I quickly selected the beef skewers and he chose the grilled salmon. He also ordered a selection of bread and fruit for an appetizer and fruit cobbler for dessert. He also bought the tickets.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked once he had placed the orders.

"Nothing," Sheldon said with a frown. "I invited you. It was my understanding that as the one who issued the invitation, it is my responsibility to pay for the outing."

I frowned back. "I guess? But you really don't have to. I can pay half."

"I would like to do this for you," Sheldon said quietly. He was staring at his hands in his lap and looked embarrassed. It was such a rare occurrence that I immediately gave in.

"Okay, yeah," I said and Sheldon finally looked at me with a small smile. "Thanks, Shelly." At the use of his nickname, I swear his smile actually got bigger, and not the creepy fake one. It was really sweet and kind of... attractive.

 

**SLSLSLSLSL**

We both went in to work the next day and it was a pretty typical day. I spent time writing up my findings and fielded interruptions from Sheldon, Raj and Howard all of whom seemed to be having some sort of minor crisis, as usual. Then, Friday vintage video game night went as well as it always does. Sheldon was arrogant about his skills at the original Atari version of Donkey Kong. Of course, he did end up kicking our collective asses, so it was actually rather justified, if annoying. It was all back to normal.

But as I watched Raj and Howard argue with Sheldon about the validity of Sheldon's win, I realized that I wasn't annoyed by Sheldon's arrogance. In truth, I was rather surprised to find that I found it not only amusing, but endearing. This was the man I had missed during my long weeks in the lab. And that in itself made the entire evening surreal.

Sheldon was gearing up for a good rant when Penny arrived, luckily for Raj and Howard who hadn't quite gotten the hang of when to give up with Sheldon even after years of friendship. She served to distract everyone from the argument and soon everyone was talking about other things for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, we all went out to have a few rounds of kite combat—minus the part where the winner commandeered the losers' kites; Raj had been way too upset after the last time—followed by lunch. When we returned, I cleaned up and was heading over to Penny's when Sheldon stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

I shrugged. "Penny wanted to catch up, so I told her we could hang out this afternoon. Why?"

Sheldon opened his mouth and looked displeased, but it took a moment for him to actually say, "You won't..." But it seemed he couldn't finish his question.

"I'll be back in plenty of time to go to the Pops," I told him, interpreting the silence. "We're just going to talk for a little bit."

"But you aren't dating her," Sheldon said firmly, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"We aren't dating," I told him. "I doubt we ever will again. I think we both realize that we work better as friends. We're just too… different."

Sheldon nodded. "Very well."

I studied Sheldon for a minute, but found no answers to my many questions on his face. He had already gone back to fixing up the damage done to his kite during the latest battle. With another shrug, I headed across the hall.

"What is up with Sheldon?" Penny asked me after we had gotten the basics out of the way a little later.

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew what she meant and I really didn't have any answers for her.

"I mean that little fit he threw the other day when he thought I might invite myself along to lunch," she said. "Or the dirty looks he keeps giving me whenever I'm within a five foot radius of you since you got back."

"He hasn't been giving you dirty looks," I denied.

Penny gave me a skeptical look. "Leonard, the man looked like he was trying to make my head explode through the power of his mind last night because I sat on the arm of your chair."

I frowned in confusion. "He did? Weird."

"Sheldon is always weird, but this is weirder than usual," Penny said. "You haven't noticed anything?"

I looked at her and then nodded slowly. "Well, when I was still spending every waking minute at the lab, he actually noticed I was getting low on tea and almond milk and bought more. And he has been a bit nicer to me. He hasn't even insulted my work in weeks. I think I may have actually impressed him with my research; though even he admits that it was groundbreaking."

Penny had a thoughtful look on her face. "And he insisted that you two go to lunch alone the other day."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And we're going to the Pops tonight to hear the music from _The Lord of the Rings_ movies. He wouldn't let me pay my half for the tickets or dinner, either."

Penny's eyes widened. "Leonard, you're dating Sheldon!"

"What?" I asked, completely shocked at the suggestion. "I am not!"

"When you got back from the movie the other night, did Sheldon say he had a nice time and ask if you wanted to do something together again soon?" Penny asked.

I nodded slowly. "Um, yeah?"

"Oh my god," Penny said with a laugh. "You are definitely dating Sheldon, whether you know it or not."

"What makes you so sure?" I demanded.

"Well, for one thing, he came to me a few weeks ago and asked me for advice on dating," Penny said. "But he never said who he was interested in. I kinda figured it was Amy. I know how whack-a-doodle he can be, so I gave him a basic step by step plan. Step one was to do something nice but unexpected for the person of interest to let them know he was interested. Or that was how he rephrased it in his notes. Step two was to take them out on a casual date. I told him lunch or dinner and a movie would be ideal. After the date, I told him he should tell her he had a good time and, if he wanted to continue dating her, he should ask then and not wait for days like some guys do."

I dropped my head into my hands and groaned. "Oh my god, I'm dating Sheldon." I took a deep breath and peeked up at Penny. "There's more. I can tell."

She was grinning as she continued. "Well, I told him the second date should be a bit more formal and romantic. Since he had no idea what constitutes romance, I gave him a few suggestions. A picnic and a concert were both on that list, though I never thought of combining the two." She shrugged. "I guess he did pretty well in adapting the steps to fit your shared interests. That was something else I told him. He should look for things to do on all of the dates that were interesting to both people. I also told him that later on, if things worked out, you could take turns picking things that you each like to do, because compromise is part of a healthy relationship."

"I'm sure that went over well," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Actually, he seemed okay with that part," Penny said. "He had a little more trouble dealing with the idea that there would be expectations of physical contact."

"Oh god!" I moaned. "You told him I would expect sex?"

Penny giggled. "Well, I thought he was asking about a girl at the time, but yes."

I glared at her amusement. "Well, don't keep me in suspense."

"I explained that on a first date, there is sometimes a kiss at the end," Penny said. "I told him it wasn't completely necessary then, especially if he asked for a second date. But I also said that at the end of the second date, if he really wanted to continue dating, he should be prepared to at least kiss. I also told him that while he could take things slowly, that eventually his date would expect sex. I told him it was a normal social convention."

"Dear god, please tell me you didn't give him a detailed list of what to do on every date?" I asked.

Penny giggled. "He tried to get that from me, but I told him that after the kissing, that both partners would have to determine how fast or slow they wanted things to progress. I did tell him that he should probably do a little research about sex before attempting it with anyone."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Great."

"So, what are you going to do?" Penny asked with another small giggle at my expense.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Penny looked at me as if I was crazy. "I mean about Sheldon. He thinks you're dating. You have to let him down gently or he may never make an attempt again."

For one brief moment, I pictured Sheldon dating and then subsequently marrying some nameless faceless person and my stomach knotted in displeasure.

"I would never hurt Sheldon," I said and got up from her sofa. "I need to go get ready for tonight or Sheldon will have a fit about being late."

Penny grabbed my arm before I could reach the door. "Wait. You aren't still going, are you? You can't string him along, Leonard."

I looked into Penny's eyes and realized for the first time that I was truly over her, and that I was glad Sheldon had gone to all the trouble to date me. It was flattering that he would go so far out of his comfort zone for me. I had missed him more than anyone; that had to mean something. And, to top the list of crazy things, I was actually looking forward to getting that kiss at the end of the date.

"I'm not stringing him along," I said. "I think... I think maybe we could work."

Penny stared at me for a long minute. "You really mean that, don't you?" I nodded. She sighed and let go of my arm. "Well, in that case, good luck. Just... be careful, okay? I care about both of you and I don't want to see either of you hurt."

I smiled at her. "Thanks. I'll do my best to protect both of us. And... Could you not tell Raj and Howard? At least not yet. I think maybe we'll need time to figure this out before letting them in on it. I don't mind the teasing, but I'm not sure how Sheldon would react if he's already insecure about trying something so new and different."

Penny mimed locking her lips. "They won't hear it from me. Have fun tonight."

 

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Even after my conversation with Penny, I wasn't completely positive that I was Sheldon's intended romantic target. After all, this was Sheldon. The man had no real concept of social norms. It was just as likely that he was trying out Penny's tips on me first so as not to make a mistake with his true target.

However, the evening _was_ pretty romantic. When we arrived at the arboretum, we found a spot that had a good view of the stage, but was far enough away from the masses of people attending to keep Sheldon happy. While I got the picnic blanket out of the backpack and set up, Sheldon went to pick up our food. I noted that he had also packed a couple of light jackets in the pack, as well as a couple flashlights and a small battery operated lantern for after it got dark. The only thing that would have been more romantic was if he had packed candles, and since I knew how Sheldon felt about the fire hazards of open flames, I figured that a lantern was about as good as it was going to get.

I set up the lantern in the center of the blanket and grabbed two bottles of water from the cooler that Sheldon had also packed. When Sheldon returned, we set out the food and began to eat.

"I thought we could save the bread and fruit for later," Sheldon said. "In case we want a snack during the concert."

"Good idea," I said as I enjoyed the beef skewers that I had ordered. The food was really good.

As we ate, Sheldon asked me questions about my experiment and how I intended to present my findings. He offered some really helpful suggestions and I found that I rather enjoyed the way he seemed to be supporting my work, rather than tearing it down.

"I have to ask," I finally said. "Why have you been so supportive of my work lately?"

Sheldon frowned. "This is the first time I have felt that you have truly lived up to your potential. Leonard, you are a gifted mind and you have spent years simply duplicating the work of others when you obviously have so much more to offer science. I have never understood your lack of confidence, nor have I wished to encourage your mediocre efforts when I knew you were capable of much greater things."

To say I was shocked was an understatement of epic proportions. But I was also profoundly touched that Sheldon thought so highly of me. "I... thank you Sheldon."

"I do not understand the reason for your gratitude," Sheldon said. "But you are welcome."

We ate in silence for a while and watched the people around us. Eventually, Sheldon had to comment on a couple nearby who had brought their baby with them. I personally thought that they looked like a nice couple, but Sheldon was rather fearful that the baby would cry through the performance and disturb his evening. I could see his point, but... the baby was really cute. Luckily, the baby fell asleep long before the concert began and his parents placed him in his stroller.

"Have you ever considered having a child?" I asked.

Sheldon blinked at me. "I have considered my obligation to pass along my superior genetics to another generation. I have not, however, decided in what capacity I should do so. Children are messy, loud and disruptive creatures."

"But babies are also cute and cuddly," I said. "And if you raise them you can teach them everything you think is most important."

Sheldon was silent for a moment. "I can see the benefits of your hypothesis. However... I do not believe that... I believe that I am only attracted to men, and as such, procreation is not a viable option."

Sheldon had just told me he was gay and I'm pretty sure my mind blanked out for a full minute before I was able to come up with a coherent response. "Um, you know that there are other alternatives? Surrogacy is pretty common these days."

Sheldon looked thoughtful. "I suppose. We would need to find the right person to carry our offspring. She would need to be intelligent and attractive, so that our progeny would have the highest potential for both academic and social success."

We. Our offspring. Our progeny. I could no longer hold back the question that had been running through my mind since talking with Penny. "Sheldon, is this a date?"

Sheldon blinked at me with insecurity. "I thought that was perfectly clear. I followed Penny's advice to the letter."

I smiled at him in a reassuring way. Or at least I hoped it was reassuring. "I'm sure you did. But did she maybe not mention that when you ask a friend out on a date, you have to clarify that it is a date? For instance, when we went to lunch and the movie the other day, that is something we have done together many times in the past as just friends. If you intended that to be a date, you should have been more specific when you asked."

Sheldon frowned. "Oh. I see. So do you consider this a date?"

"I do," I said and was rewarded with another special Sheldon smile.

Then he frowned again. "But is this our first date or our second? Since you were unaware that I intended the previous date to be in fact a date, does that negate its status? I have developed an algorithm to optimize the development of our romantic and physical relationship but unless I know which date this is, I cannot logically proceed."

"Why don't we count this as date two," I suggested. There was no way I was going to tell Sheldon, but I really wanted that goodnight kiss. "After all, while I may not have understood at the time, I now realize that the other night was in fact a date."

Sheldon let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I was not looking forward to re-evaluating the physical intimacy coefficient."

I laughed at that. Only Sheldon. "Um, we don't have to stick to any set formula. We can do what feels right for both of us."

Sheldon looked at me as though I was crazy. "I have taken both of our levels of experience and comfort with physical affection into account. The algorithm will work."

I held up my hands in surrender. "Okay, we'll stick to your algorithm for now. You ready for cobbler? I saw a gelato vendor over that way. I could get us some to go with it?"

"That would be delightful," Sheldon said. "I shall have strawberry if they have it. Otherwise, vanilla."

I wandered off to the gelato truck and considered everything that I had just learned from and about Sheldon. I knew how difficult emotions and all forms of physical contact were for him, so I was more than willing to allow him to set the pace for things. I was surprised that Sheldon was already talking about future children in terms of we and us. Then again, this was Sheldon. He never would have begun on this whole crazy scheme if he didn't believe that we had the potential for long-term success. He wouldn't disrupt his life, nor would he risk losing his best friend. Change was not his friend.

That certainty made the last few doubts that I was harboring about the sanity of dating Sheldon vanish. Here was a person who would never leave me or use me or deliberately hurt me. He might annoy the hell out of me at times, but I would never doubt my place in his life and I would never doubt my importance to him. And that knowledge outweighed my insecurities.

I ordered strawberry gelato for Sheldon and got dairy free raspberry sorbet for me. Both flavors would go great with the peach cobbler Sheldon had ordered. As I turned to head back to our picnic, I saw Sheldon watching me and my heart flipped in my chest. Yes, this could definitely work out.


	2. Part Two: Dating Algorithm

 

**Part Two: Dating Algorithm**

"So?" Penny demanded as soon as Sheldon had left to take his shower after breakfast the next morning. She had come over on the pretense of being out of coffee and stayed through breakfast. "How did it go?"

"We sorted out the whole date or no-date thing," I said. "And we agreed that despite my not knowing that the other night was a date that we would count it for the purposes of his dating algorithm."

Penny blinked. "He has a dating algorithm?"

I shrugged. "It makes him feel more secure, so yeah. And I agreed we could stick to it for now."

Penny consider that and then said, "Yeah, okay, whatever. Now the juicy stuff... did you kiss? Did you do more than kiss? How was it?"

"We held hands at the concert and we kissed goodnight," I told her and I could feel my face heat. "It was very nice. And that's all I'm going to tell you." In truth, it had been a very steamy kiss. Sheldon might not have had a lot of practical experience, but he had certainly done his research and had come prepared. He had started off with a gently chaste kiss, but had progressed slowly into something that was heat and tongues and teeth. If that kiss was any indication of what our sex life would be like, I was going to be a very lucky man. Eventually. Maybe.

"So, what's next, then?" Penny wondered.

"Sheldon is working on a revised weekly schedule to include date nights," I told her. "I guess that means that he intends to tell Raj and Howard. I'm not sure how long we could have kept it quiet anyway. We already blew them off two nights in one week. They have to be getting suspicious."

Penny shrugged. "Who knows with them? But a new schedule sounds pretty serious."

"It is," I admitted. "Sheldon doesn't accept change easily and he rarely initiates it."

"And that's okay with you?" Penny wondered.

I smiled. "Yeah, actually, it is."

"Well then, I'm happy for you both," Penny said sincerely.

 

**SLSLSLSLSL**

The new schedule was rather interesting. Monday evenings became Sheldon's new laundry night. Wednesday comic book and Halo nights remained in effect, as did Friday night vintage video games, but Tuesdays and Thursdays were now reserved for date nights. Those were the casual nights, which were eerily similar to the old evenings, including going to Cheesecake Factory on Tuesdays and ordering in pizza on Thursdays. The big difference turned out to be the fact that it was just the two of us instead of the normal four. The formal date night was on Saturday and that was the night that Sheldon insisted that we do things that we wouldn't normally do with Raj and Howard. He even made up a list of approved date ideas that I could choose from. That left Sundays open for just hanging out.

I was surprised to realize that Sheldon was able to change up the schedule without notifying Raj and Howard of the reason for the change. Personally, I thought that the two would be able to figure it out without either of us specifying the reason, but I was proved wrong. They simply took the change in schedule at face value and chalked it up to Sheldon being weird again.

Our relationship didn't seem to change much to the outside observer. Sheldon wasn't very big on what he deemed unnecessary displays of affection, so there was no chance that he would be tempted to hold hands while we were out with our friends or having lunch at the university. However, when we were alone, I found that Sheldon was more affectionate than I would have expected. We often spent time just kissing on the sofa after our friends had left for the evening. And on our date nights, we began progressing our physical relationship.

It was on a Sunday morning after one such date night that Sheldon finally brought the subject of our physical relationship up.

"I believe that we need to discuss coitus," Sheldon said boldly over breakfast. Luckily I had just swallowed a mouth full of coffee or else my roommate would have been covered in the spray.

"Um… we do?" I asked trepidatiously.

"Indeed," Sheldon said firmly. "While I have enjoyed our explorations thus far, I have been led to believe that there is an expectation for coitus in any long-term romantic relationship. Therefore, I believe we need to discuss exactly what each of us desires in that realm."

I stared at my boyfriend—and doesn't that just blow your mind? Sheldon was my boyfriend!—and tried to make sense of what he was saying. "Okay."

"I have taken the liberty of compiling a list of common sexual practices that I have gleaned from my research into the subject," Sheldon said as he went to his desk and grabbed two sets of papers, each neatly printed and stapled together. "I have also included a secondary list of less common practices. I suggest that we review these lists and make note of which practices we deem desirable and which are completely unacceptable. Then we can compare notes."

I blinked at him even as I accepted the list. I glanced at a few of the items on the paper before looking back at Sheldon. "You know, there may be some things that aren't a clear-cut yes or no. For instance, you might find receiving a blow job acceptable but not wish to give one. Or there may be things which you might not think you would like on paper, but might actually enjoy in the heat of the moment."

Sheldon tilted his head as he considered that. "Perhaps you are correct. However, there are some things which I believe we can safely cross off the list."

"Fisting can definitely come off the list," I said with a grimace. That word had just jumped out at me and I couldn't seem to stop my outburst.

"You are going out of order," Sheldon said with a huff, but he made a mark on his copy of the list anyway. "Now, let's begin at the beginning."

"Okay," I said with a sigh. "Mutual masturbation. I'm onboard with that one."

"As am I," Sheldon said. "I also believe that frottage would be pleasing as long as we refrain from soiling our clothing and there are wipes readily available to clean up."

"We can take wipes as a given," I said. I knew my boyfriend and roommate well enough to know that hygiene would definitely play a factor in our sex life.

"Noted," Sheldon said with a smile. "On to felatio… I am not averse to receiving in whatever manner you find comfortable, I do, however, have stipulations for giving."

"Of course," I said. I knew that there would have to be conditions if he agreed at all.

"I will perform felatio only if you agree to wear a condom," Sheldon said. "It is not your semen to which I object, so you know, but the idea of putting my mouth on an organ which is usually reserved for expelling waste is not something which I am prepared to do."

"Well, that eliminates rimming," I said easily. "But that's fine with me. I don't want you to do anything you aren't comfortable doing."

"Good," Sheldon said with a decisive nod as he made notes on his paper. "That brings us to anal penetration."

I almost groaned. I knew that there would be some serious discussion about hygiene and what he would and wouldn't do, but just the thought of having sex, actual sex, with Sheldon made the room feel about ten degrees warmer than it had only minutes before. "Um…"

"Are you averse to anal penetration?" Sheldon asked. "Giving or receiving?"

I swallowed hard and tried to fight back the blush that I knew was staining my cheeks. "Neither. I mean, I'm not averse to it. Either way. Though I haven't tried it, so I don't know which way I would prefer."

Sheldon nodded. "It appears that a bit of experimentation will be necessary. In theory, I do not have any objections either."

I had to ask, even though I really didn't want to. "And you're okay with… preparing me… for penetration?"

Sheldon nodded. "I had considered it when I was doing my research. I have decided that as long as there are wipes readily available and there is no expectation that I put my mouth… there, I do not find the act offensive."

I let out a sigh of relief. Since realizing that I was actually dating Sheldon, I had taken some time to do a bit of research on my own, including a little hands-on experimentation. I discovered that I really enjoyed anal stimulation, but that self-stimulation in that manner could be very difficult and hard on one's wrist.

For the next hour, we went through the entire list, discussing each aspect of sex and what we were willing to do. It was a little weird. Okay, it was a lot weird, but it wasn't really unexpected that Sheldon would want to have a clear agreement on what we would do together. I wasn't at all surprised when he mentioned writing up a boyfriends' agreement. But then we hit some of the really personal stuff.

"We discussed condoms for hygiene's sake in oral sex," Sheldon said once we had completed the list. "However, we failed to mention the use of condoms for other activities."

"I just sort of assumed that they were a given," I said. "Like the wipes."

"Not necessarily," Sheldon countered. "Though unprotected sex is highly risky if either partner is engaging in unprotected sex outside the relationship or has a history of drug use, I do not believe that either of those will be a problem in our relationship."

I shook my head. "No, I can't see either of us cheating and I know neither of us would use drugs."

"Good, in that case, I propose that we both get tested for any communicable diseases," Sheldon said. "That way, when we do work our way up to penetrative sex in a few weeks, we can engage in it without worry for the spread of disease."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes," Sheldon said and looked at me as though I had two heads. "I just said so, did I not?"

"You did," I agreed. "I'm just surprised. I mean… I kinda figured you would want to use condoms for everything."

"It would be illogical to do so," Sheldon said. "Not only would it be a waste of money and additional fodder for the landfills, but I am led to believe that condoms inhibit sexual stimulation to a degree."

"A _small_ degree," I said. "And I'm not arguing for them. I was just surprised that you would prefer not to use them. I mean, sex gets messy, no matter what, but condoms do help keep some of the mess down."

Sheldon seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding. "I see the logic in your rationale, but I still think I would prefer to eschew condoms. After all, we have been kissing for some time now and that can get a little messy as well. I have not yet objected to that, have I?"

I smiled at that. No, he most certainly hadn't objected. In fact, he had become rather aggressive in his demands for more kisses. In some ways, our date nights at home resembled two teenagers making out on their parent's couch and often ended with us taking turns in the bathroom afterward.

Sheldon continued on without waiting for a reply to his query. "Now that we have a better understanding of what is acceptable, I believe that I can better plan for the progression of our sex life in the future."

"Care to share that schedule with me?" I asked with amusement, already knowing he wouldn't tell me.

"I have been led to believe that some mystery in a relationship is a good thing," Sheldon said.

 

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Sheldon never did tell me what his master plan for sex was, but I wasn't all that concerned. I didn't want to rush him into anything he wasn't ready for and, unlike Sheldon, I liked surprises. So I left the timing up to him. If, after a few hours of making out on the sofa, I needed to spend a bit a quality time alone with my right hand, that was perfectly okay with me.

The first time we went further than kissing, however, really was a surprise to me. Not so much because I didn't think it would happen eventually, but mostly because I didn't think it would happen so soon after our sex talk. The sex talk happened on Sunday. On Tuesday night, the first date night following the talk, Sheldon actually suggested staying in and watching a movie. It had been a long day at work and I was more than okay with that. So we ate dinner together on the sofa—I had long since moved my regular seat from the armchair to the sofa beside Sheldon—and turned settled in to watch _Captain America_.

It was after the cartons had been cleaned up and teeth were brushed that Sheldon turned to kiss me. That was pretty normal. But the speed with which things progressed from simple kisses to being pinned under Sheldon as we lay prone on the sofa was new. It was enjoyable, but totally unexpected. And then I felt his arousal against my thigh and I realized that Sheldon had a reason for having that talk two days before. He wanted this as much as I did. He was as ready as I was to move things on to the next stage. And so I didn't feel at all embarrassed to thrust my hips up and let him feel just how turned on I was as well.

For a while, that's all we did: thrust into each other for friction as we kissed. I ran my hands up and down Sheldon's back and eventually down to his ass, to pull him even tighter against me. That earned me the first vocal groan of arousal just before Sheldon pulled away from me.

"We should…" His voice was broken and breathy as he struggled to find words. "We should take this to the bedroom."

I was all for that and stumbled my way in that direction. Of course, our path would have been much easier had we actually let go of each other long enough to actually walk. Instead, we stumbled and tripped up the single stair all the while kissing. We eventually made it to the bedroom, but not without a couple mishaps. I would surely have a large bruise on my shoulder from bumping into the wall three times. But it was worth the pain. Definitely worth it.

I had assumed that Sheldon would feel more comfortable sharing any sexual acts in my bed, leaving his bed and his room untouched by our activities, but he guided me to his inner sanctum and I was soon falling upon his bed. He followed me down and we were soon back where we left off. His body pressed heavily over mine, Sheldon began to tug at my shirt hem. I shoved him away momentarily so that I could yank the shirt over my head. While I did that, he carefully removed his own shirt. When he fell on top of me again, this time it was flesh to flesh and I wasn't sure I had ever felt anything quite so good. His skin was flush and warm against my own as we kissed and rocked our hips together.

That went on for a time. I can honestly say I have no idea how long. I was too caught up in the pleasure of the moment to really keep track. But eventually Sheldon pulled away and I felt him fumbling with my belt. Taking my cue from him, I reached for his belt and then the button and zipper of his pants. My way was hampered by the unmistakable bulge of his tumescent cock pressing against the fly of his pants. When my fingers brushed against that bulge, Sheldon froze and let out a low groan that I had never heard from him before.

When he finally got his head back in the game, Sheldon realized what we both should have realized long before: that there was no way we were going to get each other's pants off without separating. Still, I was rather disappointed when he climbed off me to stand beside the bed. But when he quickly shed his pants, all disappointment disappeared. God, he was beautiful. Not in the conventional sense. He was no super model, but his pale skin and long lean body was absolutely perfect in my eyes. And his cock was… long and lean just like his body and just as perfect.

Then Sheldon reached down to finish his task of removing my pants. He was quick and efficient at the task and soon, I was laid out before him. He took a moment to simply stare. I couldn't complain as I had already done the same to him, but I still felt a bit self-conscious. This was usually the part where I was rejected. There is some correlation between the size of a man and the size of his penis, though it doesn't always hold true. In my case, it was pretty accurate. I wasn't abnormally small, but I was proportioned to my body size and for some women, that was just not big enough.

"You are perfect," Sheldon murmured as he returned to the bed to lie beside me. I felt like a huge weight was lifted from me at those words. He reached out and stroked my cock with a tentative hand. "Not too big and not too small."

I chuckled. "You sound like Goldilocks."

Sheldon was going to respond to that, but I kissed him instead, pulling his body back on top of my own. If the feeling of skin on skin was good when it was just our chests bare, this was a thousand times better. I shifted my legs a little wider to accommodate him and Sheldon slipped into place. Our cocks were aligned and our mouths seemed to be fused together as we started to move against each other again. Our combined heat generated enough sweat to ease the friction between us, allowing our bodies to slide easily against each other.

Slowly the tension built between us and I lost track of anything but the feel of Sheldon on me and over me and against me. His mouth left mine because neither of us could get enough air, but he continued to kiss and nibble his way down my neck even as he continued to thrust against me. Our movements became more erratic as our orgasms approached. And when the white hot feeling of intense pleasure washed over me, I let out a cry of Sheldon's name. He followed moments later, biting hard at the juncture of my neck and shoulder. It was painful and yet so hot as well as I was still reeling from the aftershocks of orgasm that I barely felt it.

For long minutes neither of us moved. I could feel the evidence of our releases on my belly and chest, acting as a glue to hold the two of us together.

"Wipes," Sheldon was finally able to mutter, though he still made no move to get off me.

"I can't reach with you on top of me," I told him, but I know that my voice was just as broken as his had been.

There was a bit of incoherent grumbling, but eventually Sheldon rolled onto his back beside me and I was able to reach for the wipes and my inhaler on his nightstand. He certainly had prepared for this. It only took a few moments to clean us both up, toss the soiled wipes into the trash and turn out the light. Then Sheldon pulled me back down beside him and wrapped his arms around me, making me the little spoon.

"I liked that," Sheldon said sleepily. "We should definitely do that again. Soon."

I smiled into the darkness before allowing sleep to claim me.


	3. Part Three: Redecorating

**Part Three: Redecorating**

Telling our friends of our changed status was something we finally discussed about four months after our first date. By that point, we were having sex in some form or other at least daily and spending every night together in what had once been Sheldon's room. We had even replaced his old single bed for a much more comfortable queen bed and had moved my dresser and nightstand in there. The rest of my old room was still intact, since Howard and Raj did sometimes go back there, but no one ever entered Sheldon's room. But when Sheldon decided that we were wasting space by leaving the second room as it was, the issue came to the forefront.

"You realize that if we turn my old room into an office that Raj and Howard will eventually notice," I said. I wasn't against telling them. In fact, I had been ready to tell them for months, but Sheldon had hesitated. I knew it wasn't because he was ashamed of me or our relationship. He was perfectly content for Penny to know. I think he was just nervous that things would change even more than they already had. He had made some serious changes to accommodate our relationship, so I didn't blame him for wanting to limit any other changes.

Sheldon sighed as he realized the truth of my observation. "Well now, I suppose they were going to find out eventually. And really, that space would be much more useful as an office. That way, you wouldn't have to refrain from watching a movie or playing video games when I am having an epiphany."

"And we would have more room out here," I said. "We could rearrange things a bit and maybe add a second sofa. We could get a kitchen table so we could eat meals there."

"While I do not object to either proposal in principle, I do not wish for the current sofa to move," Sheldon said. "It is in the optimal position for my comfort."

I smiled at him. "I won't move your spot. I was simply thinking that we could put another sofa where the chair currently is and move the chair back over by the window to create a second sitting area for reading or something. Some of that stuff could go into the office, right?"

Sheldon was getting a little twitchy, but he nodded. "It would probably be logical to have all of the computer equipment in one place. And we would still have space for a table and chairs in that corner. I approve of this plan."

"Great," I said with a smile and then rewarded him with a kiss. "Now we just have to sell off the rest of my old bedroom furniture, buy the new stuff, and tell our friends."

"If we tell them first, we can use them to help move out the old stuff and move in the new stuff," Sheldon said.

Penny chose that moment to walk through the front door. It wasn't unusual for her to find us snuggled up on the sofa together anymore, so she simply took a seat in the armchair. "What's up?"

"We were discussing how to tell Raj and Howard about us," I told her.

"Oooh," Penny said with wide eyes. "That's big."

"I believe that they will react more positively if we share this news privately," Sheldon said. "Then there is also less likelihood of them making a public scene if they are displeased with our deception."

"I'm going to have to agree with you on that one," Penny said. "I don't think they'll be judgmental or anything, but you guys have been keeping this from them for a while now. They might be hurt by that."

"It is likely," Sheldon agreed.

"So, what do you think, Penny?" I asked. "Should we just tell them over dinner here on Wednesday?"

"And interrupt Halo night?" Sheldon gasped with dismay.

"We can do it after Halo," I conceded.

"Well, alright then," Sheldon said.

Penny shook her head in amusement. "That's probably as good a time as any. Do you want me to come over?"

"If you do, Raj won't be able to contribute to the conversation," I said. "Then again, that might make things easier."

"No, he should have a chance to speak his mind," Penny said. "But I'll be available if you need me. And just for the record, I think you two are really great together. Weird but great."

"Why thank you, Penny!" Sheldon said happily.

"So why the sudden need to tell the other guys?" Penny asked.

"We were thinking of turning my old room into an office," I told her. "Then we would have room out here for another sofa and a kitchen table."

"That's a great idea," Penny said and she spent the rest of the evening giving her input to how we should redecorate.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

When Wednesday finally came around both Sheldon and I were nervous. We went to the comic book store as usual before heading home to get ready. I could tell he was nervous because he didn't even notice that I had decided to make dinner instead of ordering in. And I knew I was nervous because I was actually cooking. I hated to cook. But I made up a huge pan of lasagna with soy cheese anyway and put Sheldon to work making the salad. He never once complained about the cleanliness of the produce or lectured me on where to buy the best groceries. He simply cleaned the vegetables and cut them up in silence.

By the time Raj and Howard arrived, we were both wound tight with the tension.

"Whoa," Raj said. "You guys cooked? What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Sheldon said a little too quickly to be believable. "We just… I mean Leonard wanted…"

"I just felt like cooking," I muttered. "Now are you going to eat or what?"

"No reason to get huffy," Howard said lightly as he wandered over to the kitchen to grab a plate.

For the next twenty minutes, the conversation was stilted. It was pretty obvious that they could feel our anxiety and were reacting accordingly. Eventually, I gathered up the empty plates and went to the kitchen with them. "You guys go ahead and start the game without me."

"We can't do that," Sheldon protested. "We play two against two! That is how we always play!"

I bit my lip. I didn't want to make Sheldon any more nervous than he already was, but I really didn't feel much like playing, either. "Fine. Just let me clean up and then I'll play."

"I can help," Raj offered.

I wanted to say no, so that I could have a few minutes to myself, but I couldn't really come up with a good reason. So Raj helped clean up the dishes and before I knew it I was playing Halo. Of course, I might as well have not played for all that I was contributing to the game. After being blown up for the fourth time, I sighed and sat back.

"You aren't even trying," Sheldon scolded me even as he continued to destroy Howard and Raj.

"I can't concentrate," I mumbled. "Just finish the game so we can get on with things."

Sheldon nodded and within minutes, he had decimated our friends. "Now that I have once again proven my superiority at Halo, we can talk."

"What's up with you two tonight?" Howard asked. "You've both been acting weird all night."

"Leonard never cooks," Raj said and then his face fell as he thought of something. "Oh no! Is it something bad? Did somebody die? Are you two moving to Germany? Am I being deported?"

"No!" I denied. "It's nothing like that. It's just… Sheldon and I have… We've sort of been keeping something from you guys. And it wasn't really because we didn't want to tell you, but it was more because we needed time to adjust to everything ourselves. But now we're afraid you might be upset with us for not telling you sooner."

"I'm confused," Howard said.

"Me too," Raj agreed. They were both staring at us expectantly, but I had already run out of steam and couldn't seem to come up with anything else to say.

"Leonard and I have been engaging in a romantic relationship for the past four months," Sheldon said in that detached tone he has, though I knew him well enough to be able to tell he really did care how they took the news.

Howard and Raj both stared at him with open-mouthed shocked expressions. Then they turned to me for confirmation. All I could do was nod.

"You… and you… and you're…" Howard was at least getting actual words out, even if there were no complete sentences. Raj was simply making choking noises.

I nodded again and clasped Sheldon's hand in mine. It wasn't really meant to be evidence to our friends, I just needed the comfort of holding my boyfriend's hand, but Howard and Raj nearly fell on the floor when they saw my actions.

"You're really… together?" Raj finally managed to ask.

"Yeah," I said. "And it's been really great. Really."

"And that's the reason Sheldon changed up the schedule a few months ago?" Howard asked.

"We needed to incorporate date nights into the schedule," Sheldon said. "We could not very well have you two along on date nights. Well, unless one or both of you found a significant other and then I suppose we could consider a double date, but since neither of you have a significant other currently…"

At that, the two men exchanged a look and flushed guiltily. "Wait… are you two…?" I asked in shock. I knew I sounded just like Howard had only moments before, but I really was stunned by the idea. Despite my mother's insinuations, I had never really considered that Howard and Raj might actually get together. They had always been so deep in denial that it seemed impossible.

Raj shrugged. "Well, dude, you two were off doing your thing together, and that left us alone a lot of the time."

"And we kind of realized that maybe there was more than just friendship there," Howard said. "It's still pretty new."

"Well now, that messes up everything," Sheldon complained.

"Sheldon…" I said in a warning tone.

"No, Leonard," he said. "Now how do I categorize date night? If we are with the two of them, then that could technically be considered a double date. Ergo every night then becomes date night. But if that is true, then it negates the quality that makes date night special!"

"How about we define a double date as being a night when we all go out together," I suggested. "That way we still can have Halo nights and date nights. Maybe we can even designate Friday nights as double date night. Any other time we all hang out together, it's just hanging out."

"That might work," Sheldon said thoughtfully as he stood to go to his computer. "I'll need to revise the schedule."

Raj and Howard both rolled their eyes and Raj asked quietly, "How do you deal with his quirks?"

I shrugged. "I've been doing it for six years already. Now I get sex out of the deal. Which also, by the way, makes him a lot more relaxed, generally."

"I heard that Leonard!"

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"How exactly did we get roped into this?" Howard complained.

The four of us were attempting to carry the new sofa up the stairs to our apartment and it was about as easy as it had been to get the time machine up. It was yet another reason to feel guilty over destroying the elevator.

"You are our friends and I was led to believe that this is the sort of thing friends do for one another," Sheldon said as he attempted to maneuver the couch around yet another bend in the stairwell.

We had already gotten the new table and chairs up. They had been comparatively easy. We had also sold the bed from my room, but that had been a lot easier since we had made the buyers move that out. Then Raj and Howard had helped us move the desks and computers into the new office. So really, the sofa was the last item that had to be moved, but it was also proving to be the most difficult. Sheldon, ever the practical one, had insisted that the new sofa be a pullout bed since we would no longer have a bed for guests. So the couch was a lot heavier than it would have been if it had just been a couch.

Twenty minutes later, we had the couch in place and we all collapsed in exhaustion. Thankfully, Penny was there, waiting with cold drinks. Howard and Raj were sprawled on the new sofa and I sat beside Sheldon on the old sofa.

"You boys look like you played chicken with a train," Penny said.

"I think we might have," I told her as I accepted the drink.

"I am a scientist," Sheldon said. "I was not made for manual labor."

"Obviously," Penny said with a smirk. "But I think that all your hard work was worth it. The place looks great."

"I like the new rugs," Raj said. "And the throw pillows."

"You just like them because they were a lot easier to get up the stairs," Howard complained.

"No," Raj denied. "I like the sofa too. Now we can actually sit together when we come over. Since Leonard moved over to the spot beside Sheldon's spot, we've had to sit on opposite sides of the room. This is much better."

"And I like that there isn't all that computer stuff cluttering up the place," Penny said.

That got her sputtered responses from almost everyone in the room. I could see her point, but the clutter was definitely worth it in my opinion. However it was nice to have all that stuff in the other room and out of sight for a change. We had gotten a few shelves for the office and moved many of the books in there, making more room in the living room for our combined collection of memorabilia. Now all of my action figures stood alongside Sheldon's. It was actually really nice to see our possessions mingled like that.

"Now if you could just get rid of the toys…"

That brought about another round of protests from all four of us. Those weren't toys; they were collectibles! I even let Sheldon rant at her unchecked for a full five minutes before calling him off. Penny really ought to know better.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Sheldon took the transition a lot better than I had expected. Changes to our apartment had never been easy for him and I knew from his mother that this was not something new. He had never taken changes to his living environment well when he was a child, either. So the fact that we only had to deal with two nightmares and one argument over the placement of his Millennium Falcon was actually a lot better than I had hoped.

The transition in our social group, however, was a little more complicated. Despite the fact that Raj and Howard took our news well, their change in status from friends to lovers threw Sheldon for a loop. My simplistic plan to include a double date night to clarify things for Sheldon only went so far to assuage his unease. He had a hard time when the other two would display any signs of affection on evenings that weren't double date night. Holding hands was cause for a five minute lecture on the boundaries between friend nights and date nights. Eventually, I had to sit him down and talk it out after one such disastrous Halo night.

"Sheldon, you know that not everyone lives by such clearly delineated rules as you do," I said.

"Well they should," Sheldon said indignantly. "Clear definitions of boundaries prevent anarchy and chaos."

"I know," I soothed. "But Raj and Howard holding hands between games on Halo night is not going to bring about the end of civilization as we know it."

"You don't know that," Sheldon said with a pout.

"I can be pretty sure," I said wryly. "Listen. I know that you need to keep those boundaries, and I'm okay with that. But even we have blurred the lines at times. I held your hand when we told them about us and you didn't protest then, even though that was a Halo night."

"But you needed my support," Sheldon said. "It was an exceptional situation."

"You're right, it was," I said. "But some people need to feel the support of their significant other pretty often. Maybe they aren't as confident in their relationship. Maybe they just need a reminder that they aren't alone. Can we please just let them hold hands? It's not like they are making out on our sofa."

Sheldon seemed to consider this. "I can see why they would be insecure. Neither of them has been very successful in their relationships up to now. I suppose I can adjust the friend night guidelines to allow small gestures of affection."

"I'm sure that will make Raj and Howard very happy," I said, already knowing that we were all going to be subjected to a fifty page document delineating the code of conduct for those nights. But at least he was going to let them hold hands.

And once again, Sheldon surprised me. When he presented the new guidelines, he had also included chaste kisses and hugs in the allowable displays of affection. And, on the next Halo night while he debated the need for punishment for not using coasters with Raj, he actually took my hand and held it for the rest of the evening.


	4. Part Four: The Big Bad Wolf

**Part Four: The Big Bad Wolf**

A few weeks after the apartment was finally completed and the new friends night guidelines were presented I got some really great news. But no matter how great that news was for me personally, I wasn't sure how Sheldon would react to it. The work that I had done the previous summer, the work that had kept me away from home for weeks on end, the work that had been published in several scientific journals, was being recognized. Or rather, I was being recognized for the work I had done.

It was with trepidation that I brought up the subject over dinner that evening. It was a Thursday date night and I had made spaghetti with cut up hotdogs just for Sheldon. After cooking for our friends, we had decided to cook at least twice a week to save money and eat somewhat healthier. We took turns: I cooked on Thursdays and Sheldon cooked on Sundays. Of course, when Sheldon cooked it was usually something like grilled cheese and canned soup.

"Ooh!" Sheldon said with excitement when he saw what I had cooked. We sat down at our new table to eat dinner. It was nice to actually have a place to eat besides the sofa. "This is my favorite. What's the occasion?"

"I um, have some news," I said, biting my lip nervously.

Sheldon picked up on my nervousness. "What kind of news? Because it doesn't look like good news based upon your facial expression."

"It's actually very good news," I said with forced cheer. "I, um, was contacted by the Wolf Foundation. They're awarding me the Wolf Prize in Physics for the work I did last summer. Isn't that great?"

Sheldon's fork froze half way to his mouth and he showed no emotion for a good minute. In the meantime, I was a sweating nervous wreck. The Wolf Prize was second only to the Nobel Prize in prestige. It was a huge honor and I know that Sheldon believed that he would have won it long before I ever would. And yet he had been very supportive of my work last summer and had been very pleased with the paper I had published regarding my findings. He admitted that what I had found was groundbreaking and had even incorporated some of my findings into his own theories. But that didn't mean he was ready to deal with me getting recognition for my work before him.

"Say something," I finally prompted.

"I'm very proud of you," Sheldon said and I could tell that he meant it.

"But..?"

"But I'm also disappointed in myself for not getting there first," Sheldon confessed. "Though I have to admit that I haven't offered anything as groundbreaking as your particle laser work in quite some time. You deserve the award. But I am…"

"Jealous?" I asked gently.

"I suppose that is the proper term for what I am feeling right now," Sheldon said.

"It's okay to feel that way," I told him and clasped the hand that was lying on the table in mine. "We all felt pretty jealous when Raj was in People Magazine. I just don't want this to affect our relationship."

"It won't," Sheldon promised with a small smile, the one that I had grown to love. "Our relationship is just as important to me as my work and, as difficult as it is for even me to believe, definitely more important than some award. But it is a wakeup call for me. I need to push myself harder. I have become complacent in recent years. I need to start pushing the boundaries of science once again."

"And I'll be there to support you when you win the Nobel Prize," I promised.

"Of course you will," Sheldon said with mild confusion. "Where else would you be?"

"So you'll come to the award ceremony they are planning?" I asked. "I mean, as my date?"

Though we had told our friends, we had not yet made the news of our relationship a public thing to our colleagues at the University. If Sheldon came as my date, then the news would be all over the scientific community in mere hours. Even those not in attendance would learn through the grapevine or twitter. I could see Sheldon considering all the possibilities in his mind. How would this news affect our relationships with our colleagues? How would it affect our reputations? Then again, many of our colleagues believed we had been in a relationship for years already.

"I will be your date," Sheldon finally said. "I am not ashamed of our relationship. In fact, I am proud to have you as my partner."

"Partner?" I asked with a wide smile.

Sheldon frowned. "Is that not the correct term for two men in a committed relationship who have not yet or cannot yet be married legally?"

"That's the right term," I said, still smiling. "We just hadn't ever discussed it before."

"If that is the correct term, then I do not see what needs to be discussed," Sheldon said. With that he went back to his spaghetti and hotdogs.

Before I went back to my own meal, I leaned over and kissed his cheek. Even after six months together, he could surprise me.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"Do I really need a new suit?" Sheldon whined as we made our way through a rather high end department store.

"Yes," Penny and I said in unison for the fifth time in as many minutes.

"If I have to have a new suit, so do you," I muttered.

"I don't see why you guys are complaining," Penny said. "Shopping is fun! Or it can be if you loosen up and just go with it."

"I am not a hippie," Sheldon said dryly. "I do not _go with the flow_."

Penny rolled her eyes and dragged us to the men's department. She immediately set to work picking out suits for each of us. Within minutes, we were in adjoining changing rooms and trying on various suits.

"I am not wearing this," I heard from the cubicle next to mine and had to snigger. Sheldon really did not like change. "There's no pattern and only one color."

"Then try on the one with pinstripes," Penny said.

I shook my head and emerged from the fitting room. I was wearing a navy suit and had to admit that it did fit a lot better than my old corduroy suit ever had. The pants and sleeves were too long, but the shoulders fit nicely and the pants hugged my body, making my legs look longer and leaner.

"How's this?" I asked.

"I like the cut, but I think the color is wrong for you," Penny said thoughtfully. "Try the charcoal instead."

Just then, Sheldon stepped out of his cubicle. He too was wearing a navy blue suit, but his had tiny pin stripes widely spaced about an inch apart. The cut emphasized his lean body and made him look quite dashing. Penny had paired the suit with a white shirt that had red and navy pinstripes in a plaid pattern and a navy tie with red paisleys.

"Wow, Sheldon…" I said a little breathlessly. "That… looks… you should definitely get that suit."

Sheldon looked himself over in the mirror. "I suppose I can live with the subdued suit since the shirt and tie both have bold colors and patterns to them. It is acceptable."

I was pleased that Sheldon had given in so easily. The award ceremony was a pretty big deal and President Siebert was pretty clear that he expected us all to look less like geeks and more like regular people. Personally, I didn't care all that much what I wore, but I'd rather not have to deal with Siebert's lecture later. That was why I dutifully tried on the charcoal suit and stepped from the dressing room again.

"That's a lot better," Penny said as she looked me over.

"I have to agree," Sheldon said with some surprise. "That suit does make you look quite handsome, Leonard."

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

"Though you could probably do with a bit of color," Sheldon continued. "That black shirt and gray tie all just sort of blend together don't they?"

"Maybe a green tie?" Penny said as she began rifling through a nearby rack.

"Or light blue," Sheldon suggested.

In the end, the two of them agreed that the shimmery green tie was better because it brought out the green in my eyes. Since my eyes are a muddy hazel I wasn't really sure what they were talking about, but I went along with it to get the whole thing over with. Of course, once we had picked out the suits, we had to get them tailored and then Penny insisted that we needed new shoes too. It turned into a very long day. But in the end, I think it was probably worth it. After all, Sheldon did look really great in his new suit and he kept eyeing me in my new suit, so it couldn't be a bad thing.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

The evening of the award ceremony arrived and I was a nervous wreck. I had been told that I was expected to say a few words after they gave me the award. I hated public speaking. It was bad enough talking to a room full of physics students on the rare occasion when I had to fill in for a professor or giving a paper to a small gathering of peers. This was a thousand times worse. Some of the best minds in science would be present and I had nothing to say. Sure I had jotted down a few thoughts on a card, but they seemed irrelevant and inadequate in the circumstances.

Howard and Raj were both impressed by the fact that the Wolf Foundation had arranged for a limousine to pick us up, but Sheldon took it all in with his usual stoicism. I was actually a little impressed myself. Penny, of course, went straight for the minibar. I refrained from drinking the champagne, as did Sheldon. But the others all partook. It wasn't long before Raj was happily conversing with Penny about the latest episode of Top Model.

"There is no reason to be nervous," Sheldon said quietly as he took my hand. I hadn't even noticed until he did that I had been biting my thumbnail. I smiled up at him and nodded.

It didn't take long to get to the place where the ceremony was being held. In fact, it was a much shorter ride than I would have preferred, all things considered. But soon enough, we were all once again climbing from the limo and heading inside. As we entered, I noticed that there were a lot of people there. Many of them were pretty famous in the science world. Some were even famous for other reasons. There were a couple movie stars and a few politicians there as well as most of my colleagues from the university. President Siebert had invited a number of donors to the event to garner more money for our research, which I couldn't really object to. After all, they paid for the equipment that had helped me do my work.

As soon as we entered, we were greeted by one of the representatives from the Wolf Foundation who quickly went over the schedule for the evening and pointed out where I would be sitting. I was glad that I wouldn't have to sit up at some head table all night. Instead, they had reserved a table for me and my friends near the front of the room, so I would be able to be with them through the dinner and most of the program. Once the woman had gone over everything, she led me over towards a group of important people. I grabbed Sheldon's hand and made him come with me, letting the others fend for themselves.

"Dr. Hofstadter, I'd like you to meet Dr. Yeshua Fisher," the woman said after she had introduced me to the rest of the group. "He is the current president of the Wolf Foundation."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Fisher," I said as I shook his hand. "I am extremely honored to have been selected by your foundation for the Wolf Prize."

"It is well-deserved recognition for some brilliant research," Dr. Fisher said with strong Israeli accent and a smile. "And who is this with you?"

"I'm sorry," I apologized and squeezed Sheldon's hand. "This is Dr. Sheldon Cooper, my partner and colleague."

"Ah yes, Dr. Cooper," Dr. Fisher said with a smile. He didn't even react when Sheldon didn't accept his proffered hand. "I have heard some very great things about your work over the years. In all honesty, I expected we would have met long before now. I understand from James Siebert that you are working on some very exciting new theories integrating Einstein's work on relativity into string theory in order to prove both. In fact, I have heard some murmurings from the Einstein Foundation regarding your work as well. Of course, that is unsurprising as it is a very unique approach to some very complex problems."

"Thank you," Sheldon said. I could tell that he was thrilled to find that two of the top foundations that recognized scientific breakthroughs were following his work. I know it went a long way towards mitigating his jealousy over my winning the award. "I have always attempted to approach problems in a unique manner."

I smiled at that. "Sheldon is a very unique individual, so it follows that his work would be as well."

Dr. Fisher was called away soon after that and we were left alone for a few minutes, so I turned a wide smile to Sheldon. "Your work is being noticed, even if you haven't gotten the formal recognition for it as yet. That's because they all know just how exceptional your mind is."

"I am rather exceptional," Sheldon agreed happily and then leaned down to brush a kiss to my cheek. "Thank you."

We were interrupted then by some other people who wanted to congratulate me. For the next hour, we met at least a hundred people. It was easy to tell the ones who were truly interested in the science and those who were just there to see and be seen. The ones who valued the research all knew exactly who Sheldon was as soon as I introduced him. Those who were just there for the party dismissed him as unimportant and usually asked what plans I had for the prize money. Those conversations were usually very short. I found I really didn't like Sheldon being dismissed as unimportant.

Eventually, the cocktail hour was up and we were all directed to take our seats for dinner. We found Penny, Raj, Howard and my mother at our table along with President Siebert and his wife. I hadn't wanted to invite my family but Sheldon had insisted. Thankfully, only my mother had elected to come. As the meal was served, I told the others about my observations about the people we had met and the two categories they seemed to fall into. They found it mildly amusing.

"So, what _do_ you plan to do with the money?" Penny asked.

"I think you should buy a motorcycle," Howard said.

"Or a yacht," Raj said.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not buying a motorcycle or a yacht."

"A motorcycle is far too dangerous," Sheldon said. "And $100,000 is not enough money to buy a yacht."

"Personally, I think you should invest the money," my mother said.

"Or you could use it for a down payment on a house," Mrs. Siebert offered.

"I really haven't thought a whole lot about the money," I said with a shrug. "I mean, it's nice and all, but I'm still reeling from being recognized for my work. But I probably will invest it. I mean, Sheldon and I have a nice place to live, and I can't imagine either of us wanting to move right now. I have a car that is perfectly functional. Plus, if I invest now, when we do finally decide to buy a house, we'll have even more money available to use as a down payment."

There was some disappointment that I wasn't planning on blowing the money on fun and frivolous things from some of our friends, but my mother nodded approvingly.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

The ceremony wasn't as long as I had feared it might be. The woman who had shown us around earlier said a few words to introduce Dr. Fisher and then he had gotten up to talk about the Wolf Foundation and the history of the award. Then President Siebert went up to say how lucky the university was to have great minds like mine. Dr. Fisher got back up and took a few minutes to talk about the project itself and what it would mean to the field of physics and science in general in the future. Then, finally, Dr. Fisher called me up to the dais to present the award. They took a few minutes to take pictures of him handing me the award and then it was time for me to take the microphone.

I was really nervous. My hands were sweaty and I couldn't stop shaking. But as I stood there looking out at the vast sea of faces my eyes found Sheldon, who was looking up at me with pride and not a single hint of envy, and my nerves seemed to settle.

"Good evening," I said. "It is a great honor to be recognized by such a prestigious organization as the Wolf Foundation. I can tell you all that getting to this point has not been a solitary road. I worked with a great team of student researchers. But this road started long before that. My parents always encouraged me to pursue answers, even when those answers are difficult to find, and that encouragement continues to be one of the primary reasons I do what I do.

"I have also been privileged to work with an amazing group of colleagues at California Institute of Technology. Some of the most impressive minds in science are in one place and we spur each other on to bigger and better ideas. Among those colleagues, I am lucky to call several my friends. Dr. Rajesh Koothrapali and Howard Wolowitz have been good friends. I thank them for their friendship and support.

"Not all of my support has come from the scientific community, however. One of my closest friends, Penny, has been an anchor. She gets me and the rest of us science geeks out of our heads and helps us to reconnect to the real world. It was because of her that I actually came up with the idea for this research, though I'm sure she'll never understand how making me ride the teacups at Disneyland had anything to do with physics." I paused to smile at Penny and she smiled back as some of the audience laughed. "Thanks Penny."

I paused again, unsure how to say the next part. "There was one person who encouraged me and supported me through this research more than any other. He always pushed me to do more and be more. He is the person I bounced ideas off of and the first reader for all of my papers. He went out of his way to make my life easier when I was spending long days and nights in the lab, despite the fact that it was not easy for him to have his routine interrupted. He is my best friend, my confidante, and my partner. I know that someday I will be sitting where he is tonight and I hope I will be just as supportive to him as he has been to me. He is the reason I am standing here today. Thank you Sheldon."

There was applause, but I didn't pay any attention to it as I walked down to our table and Sheldon stood to meet me. We embraced despite the audience and I could feel Sheldon's emotions attempting to escape the careful control he held over them as he trembled slightly in my arms. "You are welcome," Sheldon whispered in my ear.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

There was dancing and more drinks after the ceremony. I'm not sure why they thought a room full of science geeks was a good place to have dancing, but they did. And of course my mother insisted on having a dance with her son. Now that I had gained recognition for my work from an outside source, I knew she was much prouder of me, though she still didn't really show it. And it was funny; as we danced a waltz, I realized that her approval no longer really mattered all that much to me. Sheldon was proud of me and I was proud of myself and that's what really mattered.

"So, when were you going to tell me you and Sheldon are in a romantic relationship?" She asked as we carefully made our way across the floor in time to the 3/4 rhythm.

"Well, I had assumed that Sheldon had told you," I said. "Since the two of you are so close and all."

She gave me a look but I refused to back down. "Are you still pouting over the fact that I find your roommate to be intellectually stimulating? That is rather childish."

"I'm not pouting," I said calmly. "I was simply answering your question. I know the two of you correspond. I also know that you often ask Sheldon about my life. I just assumed he would have told you of the change in our relationship."

"Perhaps he thought you should be the one to tell me," she said.

"Perhaps," I conceded.

"Though why he would think you would offer any personal information is a mystery to me," she said. "After all, you rarely call, and it is even rarer that you tell me anything personal about your life."

I rolled my eyes at that. "And why do you think that might be? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you never call me either and you didn't even tell me about divorcing my father until long after the fact. Mom, we simply do not have a close relationship. Our family was all about intellect and nothing about emotions growing up. You taught us to value ideas over feelings. Even though I was always more emotional than the rest of you, I have come to accept the way things were and are. Why, all of a sudden, is that not okay with you?"

"Perhaps I am becoming maudlin as I age," she said quietly. "But I have realized that I wish we could have a closer relationship. Your brother and sister are both too much like your father for things to change, but I had hoped that with you…"

I lost a step. I had never expected my mother to say anything like that. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course," she said. "I never say things I do not mean."

I nodded, because that was true. "Okay. Then I guess we could try. Sheldon and I are flying to Israel next month for the official award ceremony. Perhaps you would like to come with us?"

"This isn't the official ceremony?" she asked with surprise.

"No," I shook my head. "This is the local recognition. The university put this on and the Foundation participated in order to garner local attention."

"And donations," my mother said knowingly. "I understand."

I smiled. "Yeah. I'll get the real certificate and the check in Israel along with the other Wolf Prize recipients."

"Well, then, I shall be there," she said. "Send me the information and I'll make the arrangements."

"Thanks, mom," I said. "It means a lot to me that you're coming. And that you came tonight."

"I am very proud of you, Leonard," she said. "I always have been." Before I could contradict her, she went on, "So you never did explain how you and Sheldon got together. As a mother, I believe I have a right to know these things."

I smiled as I began to explain how I unknowingly went on my first date with Sheldon.


	5. Part Five: Miss You Most of All

**Part Five: Miss You Most of All**

"I'm moving back to Nebraska," Penny announced to the group one evening.

There was the expected chorus of denials and questions of why and when. I remained silent. Penny had told me of her decision a few days prior and so I was prepared for this announcement. In fact, the two of us had talked for hours about her reasons and I attempted to change her mind all to no avail. And so I had accepted the inevitable.

"I've finally come to the conclusion that I'm never going to have an acting career and I'm tired of wasting my life waiting tables," Penny said with a sigh. The last time she had decided to move home, she had been lured into staying by a hemorrhoid commercial. But there had been no other commercials or paying roles since. "I'm going to move in with a friend from high school and go back to school. I figure I can get a degree in marketing or psychology or something and get a real job."

"Psychology is not a real anything," Sheldon muttered.

Penny smiled at him. "I'm going to miss you, too, Sweetie."

"When do you leave?" Raj asked. It had taken some time, but the more comfortable Raj became in his relationship with Howard, the easier he found it to talk to some women. He still got anxious and silent with particularly intimidating women, but he had no trouble talking to Penny or Amy.

"Two weeks," Penny said with a sigh. "I have a lot of packing to do and I don't want to leave without giving notice at work. But I was already accepted to the University of Nebraska and the semester starts in three weeks. I'm hoping you guys will help me load the truck when the time comes."

"Of course we will," I said, mostly because I knew the others would all find reasons not to if I didn't guilt them into it.

Later that evening, after we had gone to bed for the night, Sheldon turned to me. "You didn't seem surprised that Penny is leaving."

"She told me the other day," I said. "But she wanted to tell everyone else at once, so I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"I see," Sheldon said. I could tell he was upset about something, but I really couldn't tell what. "Are you… upset that she's leaving?"

"A little, yeah," I admitted. "She's my friend and I want her to do what's best for her. But I'm going to miss her a lot."

He let out an almost inaudible sigh. "Okay."

"Sheldon, what's wrong?" I asked as I stroked his arm gently.

"I am not sure I can define what I'm feeling," Sheldon said. "On the one hand, I feel very sad that Penny is leaving, but on the other…"

"It's okay," I told him. "Feelings aren't wrong. There are just healthy and unhealthy ways to express them. You talking to me about how you feel is healthy."

Sheldon nodded. We had had that discussion a few times already. "I'm also feeling relieved and I feel bad because I feel relieved. It's all just a jumbled mess."

"Feelings are like that sometimes," I said. "Can I ask why you feel relieved?" Normally, Sheldon would have picked at my choice of wording, but I could tell he really was upset because he just let it go.

"I… I like Penny and I know that neither you nor she would ever do anything to hurt me," Sheldon said. "But I also do not like when you two spend a lot of time together. I get ugly thoughts in my head and no matter how much I tell myself that you would never do anything like that it doesn't make them go away."

I smiled at my partner. "That's called jealousy. And it's perfectly normal to feel jealousy. Sometimes I get jealous when you spend time with Amy. You and she share interests that you and I don't. And it's okay to feel like that. But if those feelings ever become overwhelming, I hope you tell me. Because then we can work things out together."

"But jealousy is a completely irrational emotion," Sheldon said. "Especially since I know that you would never cheat on me."

"Most emotions are irrational," I countered. "You used to consider love irrational. But I know that you love me and I love you, rational or not."

"Loving you is quite rational," Sheldon said. "You were my best friend and the one person I could stand to be around all the time or allow to touch me. And you were the only person able to put up with my quirks."

I chuckled at that. "That may be true, but we are totally different people. I know I still annoy you when I forget to follow the rules. And I know you still annoy me when you get obsessed over something. If love was rational, those annoyances would overshadow the good things. Instead, those annoyances become somewhat endearing. Most of the time."

"So you are not mad at me for being relieved that Penny is leaving?" Sheldon asked quietly.

"I'm not mad," I said. "I know that the biggest part of you is sad to see her go. I know that you are going to miss her."

"I shall," Sheldon said. "I do not like change, Leonard."

"I know, Shelly," I said. "Neither do I."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Two weeks seemed to pass quickly. Both Sheldon and I spent time helping Penny organize and get packed. Sheldon's OCD tendencies came in handy at times like that. And then the day arrived that we were to pack up the rental truck she would be driving back to Nebraska. Raj and Howard did come by to help, as did a few other guys that Penny knew and we all made quick work of getting everything moved out.

Once everything was loaded, however, it was time to actually say our goodbyes and I was having a very hard time facing that. I wasn't the only one, however. Raj was so upset that he reverted back to his silent ways. Howard actually cried when Penny hugged him and didn't once try to cop a feel. Sheldon got all twitchy but he actually initiated a hug and didn't complain once when Penny held on much longer than what he would normally deem appropriate. And then it was my turn and the others moved away to give us a few minutes alone.

"I'll miss you most of all, Scarecrow," Penny whispered into my ear.

I chuckled through my tears as I gave her a tight hug. "I guess you might play Dorothy in some weird remake of the film. And Pasadena might pass for Oz."

"Sheldon is definitely the Tin Man." Penny said as she held back a sob.

"And Raj is the Cowardly Lion," I said. "And Amy's the good witch."

"Does that make Howard Toto?" Penny laughed through her tears.

"I was thinking one of the munchkins," I told her with a small chuckle as I pulled away. "There's no reason this has to be goodbye forever. We can Skype and text and talk on the phone."

"And I can visit on breaks and you and Sheldon can come visit me," Penny said as she wiped away the tears on her cheeks. "You two are going to go the distance. I can tell. I hope I can find someone that loves me as much as he loves you."

"You will," I told her. "I have no doubt about that. You are one of the best people I have ever known. Not many people would welcome a bunch of geeks into her life and make them a family."

"You guys are a lot better than my real family," Penny said. "I am really going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too. All of us will," I told her sincerely.

"Even Sheldon?" Penny asked.

"Especially Sheldon," I said. "He doesn't let people in easily, but once he does, he hates letting go."

Penny looked a little embarrassed, but she plowed on anyway. "I sort of got the feeling since you two got together that he was… uncomfortable with me."

I smiled. "He was a little uncomfortable with you and me spending time together alone," I confirmed. "But he trusts us both and none of that changes the fact that he cares about you and is going to miss you. Don't ever doubt that."

Penny nodded and then rushed over to hug Sheldon again, much to his surprise.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"Are you okay?"

I knew I had been unusually quiet since Penny had pulled away from the curb earlier that day, but I hadn't expected Sheldon to notice. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just…"

"Miss her already," Sheldon said as he sat down on the sofa beside me with two cups of hot chocolate. "So do I."

"This is the right thing for her," I said and then took a sip of the hot beverage. It really was comforting. "And I'm happy for her. She deserves so much more than the life she had here."

"There, there," Sheldon said as he awkwardly patted my back.

That made me smile. Some things never change.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Three months after leaving Pasadena, Penny was happily working on her bachelor's degree. She called often, and usually asked for help with some assignment or other. After her first semester, she decided to major in elementary education. I told her I thought that she would make a great teacher. She certainly taught the four of us quite a lot about people and friendship and love.


	6. Part Six: Relatively Big News

**Part Six: Relatively Big News**

Life in apartment 4A was a little subdued after Penny left. It wasn't just her departure, however, that brought everyone down. Raj and Howard were going through a rather difficult time with Raj's parent's and Howard's mother accepting their relationship, though they didn't really talk much about it, and Sheldon was working extra hard on a new project. It had been almost a year since I had received the Wolf Prize, and he had been on a mission to gain recognition for his work ever since. So he spent long hours at work—keeping Raj late as well, much to Howard's displeasure, though Howard's mother was quite happy to have him home more often—and I was left to play Wii bowling alone.

Our office at home was a mess of white boards as Sheldon tried to puzzle out the secrets of the universe. He sometimes talked about his ideas with me, and I offered what help I could. In truth, his work was beyond anything I had ever dreamed. And I knew from talking with Raj that he felt lost most of the time as well. But, in the end, Raj's knowledge of astrophysics was the key to unlocking the puzzle.

"I did it," Sheldon said in a daze. He had just walked through the door after another long day and he looked exhausted.

"Did what?" I asked as I got up and led him over to the sofa to sit.

"I proved it," he said. "I proved Einstein's theory. I proved it irrefutably using data gleaned from Bekenstein's work with black holes. When the scientific community gets ahold of this, relativity will no longer be a theory. It will be a law!"

I stared at him in shock. "I… Are you sure?"

"Positive," he told me excitedly. "I ran the equations a dozen times then I ran them through the computers another dozen times. It fits. It's all there."

"Oh my god, Sheldon," I said as I hugged. "I'm so proud of you! I want to see it!"

"Tomorrow," he said. "Tonight I just want to be with you and celebrate."

I grinned. "I can definitely do that. Does Raj know?"

"That we are going to celebrate?" Sheldon asked with confusion.

I rolled my eyes even as I allowed him to lead me towards our bedroom. "No, that you solved it."

"He does not," Sheldon said quietly as we reached the room. He sat on the bed and sighed, so I sat beside him.

"What happened?" I asked gently.

"He said I would never do it," Sheldon said. "Two days ago, he quit. He said I was chasing an impossible dream and it was ruining his relationship with Howard."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"Because I thought maybe he was right," Sheldon sighed. "I have also been neglecting you in this pursuit that might have been completely futile."

"But it wasn't futile," I said. "Even if you hadn't solved it, it wouldn't have been futile. Your work is never futile. Even failures teach us something and lead us closer to success. And you weren't neglecting me. If you had been, I would have said so. Sure I have spent an unusually large amount of time playing Wii bowling by myself lately, but I wasn't unhappy about it. And the next time I get caught up in some experiment, I'm sure I'll be just as busy. This is just your turn."

Sheldon leaned over and kissed me hard for that. When he pulled away, I could tell I had allayed at least one of his fears. "But what do I do about Koothrapali? Technically, he was not part of the team when I proved the theory. But he was involved in the stages leading up to that solution? How do I give him credit? Do I even need to?"

"Yes," I told him. "You told me last week that you never could have figured out all that black hole data without him. For that alone he needs to be acknowledged. But he's also your friend. You can't cut him out just because the two of you had a fight. It's still your work, but he played an integral part of that work, so you need to give him credit."

Sheldon sighed. "I will. But I'm not telling him until tomorrow."

"Good," I said. "Because I think we had plans for tonight."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Raj was wearing his pajamas when Sheldon and I knocked at his door the next morning. "What is he doing here?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at my friend, knowing it wouldn't help matters at all. "Sheldon is here to tell you something."

Raj looked a bit peeved still, but he let us into the apartment. I noted that Howard's presence was quite obvious these days, though he had still not moved in officially. There were items all around the room that I recognized as belonging to Howard.

"I solved it," Sheldon said. He sounded a bit petulant as he spoke, but I could also hear the pride in his voice. "Yesterday. I ran everything multiple times and it all works."

Raj's eyes went wide. "You solved it? Really?"

Sheldon nodded and Raj looked so happy for a brief moment before his face fell. "Oh."

"As I could not have reached the conclusions I reached without your knowledge of astrophysics, it seems only fair to give you partial credit for the work," Sheldon said. This time, there was definitely petulance in his voice.

Raj looked at me and I nodded. He was serious.

"You really… even after I walked out?" Raj asked.

"It's only fair," Sheldon said.

"I… thank you," Raj said quietly. "Can I see?"

"We were heading over there now," I said. "You could go with us."

"Assuming you wish to have your job back," Sheldon said. "There will be a lot of work preparing our findings for publication."

"Yes! Yes, of course," Raj said and then looked down at his pajamas. "Just give me ten minutes to get dressed."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

The furor surrounding Sheldon and Raj in the weeks and months that followed was amazing, though not entirely surprising. Every high school student learned about Einstein's theory of relativity, therefore everyone knew enough about the subject to have at least a cursory interest in the proving of that theory. Sheldon ended up on the cover of Time magazine. That was actually pretty cool. Inside there were pictures of Raj and Sheldon at the university, and they even used a picture of the two of us at home to make Sheldon look well-rounded. They went on talk shows and radio shows. Those were rather amusing. Sheldon was Sheldon and Raj often couldn't speak because of the presence of some powerful woman. I always got a kick out of it when Raj would just meep in response to a direct question.

No one was surprised when Sheldon was awarded the Wolf Prize or the National Medal for Physics. Nor were they surprised when the Einstein Foundation honored the two men for their discovery. We spent a lot of time attending awards ceremonies that year. And though it was clear to everyone that Sheldon was the driving force behind the discovery, he was always sure to point out the importance of Raj's contribution. I was very proud of him for that. He had certainly grown as a person from the man who had once denied Raj the right to have a desk.

But there was one unexpected consequence to all of the hype and publicity. Mrs. Mary Cooper.

I don't think Sheldon kept our relationship from her intentionally; it just never occurred to him that she might care about something like that. Or maybe I'm wrong and he feared that her religious convictions would outweigh her seemingly unconditional acceptance of her eccentric son. Either way, she was not in the know until the article in Time came out and our relationship was made public for the entire country to see.

She showed up on our doorstep the very next day.

"Mom?" Sheldon said with confusion when he opened the door to see his mother standing there. "What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Cooper smiled sadly at her son. "Shelly, why do you think I'm here? I had to find out from a magazine that my boy is in a relationship! And has been for more than three years!"

"Oh," Sheldon said. He moved aside and let his mother enter the apartment.

"Hi Mrs. Cooper," I said guiltily.

"Hello, Leonard," Mary smiled at me. "The place looks nice. You put all that computer stuff away?"

"We turned Leonard's old room into an office," Sheldon said. "Are you mad at me?"

"I do wish you would have told me," Mary said as she sat down on the old sofa and pulled Sheldon down next to her in his spot. She held onto his hand even though we all knew that it made him uncomfortable. "I always knew you and Leonard would probably end up livin' out your days together. I just wish you would have trusted me."

"It's not that I didn't trust you," Sheldon denied. "I just… I didn't think about it."

It was probably true. Sheldon didn't share a lot of information about himself with his mother. They talked regularly on the phone, and he often told her about his work or about me or even Raj and Howard, but he didn't really like to talk about his feelings or his personal life. It wasn't shame or insecurity. It was just him.

"Okay," Mary said. "So why don't you boys tell me how all this came about?"

**SLSLSLSLSL**

In bed that night, Sheldon was unusually quiet. I knew that there would be no chance that we would have sex with his mother sleeping on our sofa bed, but I hadn't expected him to be quite so quiet, either.

"You okay?" I finally asked into the darkness.

Sheldon pulled me a little closer to him. "I wasn't ashamed."

"I know," I said.

"I've always been proud that you accepted me as a viable life-partner," Sheldon told me.

"I know," I said with a smile.

"I spoke with Amy Farrah-Fowler earlier," Sheldon said. "She thinks I subconsciously decided not to tell my mother because I feared that she would react negatively."

"It is possible," I said. "But whatever your reasons, it all turned out okay. She's still here. She still loves you."

"She does, doesn't she?" Sheldon asked. It was rare that he displayed that level of insecurity, so I was quick to reassure him. "My mother means a lot to me. I know that I… can be impatient with her lack of advanced intelligence, but…"

"She's you mom," I said. "And it's okay to want her to love you. It's okay to love her."

"I can't reconcile that need," Sheldon sighed. "Logically, her responsibility to me ended when I was old enough to fend for myself."

"Logic has no place in human emotions," I told him. "People feel what they feel. And when we care about someone, that feeling just doesn't end because we no longer need them. Nor does a mother stop loving her child just because they are old enough to take care of themselves. Love overrules logic, Sheldon. You once told me that you cared more about me than winning an award. That's not logical and yet it's how you feel. And your mom loves you the same way. You are more important to her than even her religious beliefs. That should make you feel good."

Sheldon considered that in the silence of the room and sighed. "It does. I have come to accept the irrationality of my feelings for you and your feelings for me. I suppose I shall simply have to expand upon that to include my mother."

I smiled in the darkness before turning so that I could give Sheldon a chaste kiss.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Mary spent three days at the apartment with us and in that time, I watched as Sheldon became more and more confident that he hadn't lost mother's love. Mary admitted that she had suspected that the relationship between the two of us had the potential to be more the first time she had seen us interact together. After all, how many people would put up with Sheldon's unique brand of crazy? Only someone who really loved him. But as time passed, she had begun to believe that perhaps she had been wrong.

On her last day in town, she sent Sheldon out to buy pecans, so that she could make his favorite pie and the two of us were left alone in the apartment. I had never been nervous around Mary Cooper before, but I was then.

"Don't look so spooked," Mary said. "I just wanted a few minutes alone with you so that we could talk."

"Um, yeah, okay," I said as I pulled up a stool to the worktable in the kitchen and watched her make pie crust.

"So, I know how much you care about my boy," Mary said. "Otherwise you woulda hightailed it outa here years ago. And I know that you take good care of him. I also know that being in love with you must be good for him. You haven't had to call me about him getting an idea stuck in his head in almost four years and he's happier than I can ever remember him being."

"Yeah, he is," I said with a small smile. I liked that I could make Sheldon happy. And he really wasn't as bat-crap crazy as he used to be. Sure, he still had his moments and he still lived his life by an arbitrary set of rules that was hard for most people to understand, but he was getting better about understanding that he wasn't the center of the universe and had started taking other people's feelings into consideration before speaking. He hardly ever ranted at hapless service people and managers these days.

Mary smiled at me. "I just wanted you to know that if my boy had to pick a man to fall in love with, I'm glad it was you. You and I both know that my faith means a lot to me, and it has been difficult to accept that Sheldon is… gay. But I have always believed that God made my boy special for a reason and if that's the truth, then God made him gay for a reason too. Maybe because He knew that no one but you could ever give Shelly what he really needs."

I choked back a few tears. Her words meant a lot to me. I might not believe in God, but I respected her faith. And I especially liked the idea that Sheldon and I were made to be together. "Thank you."

"I know my boy would scoff at me if I told him any of this," Mary said knowingly. "But I think you can appreciate where I'm comin' from, Leonard."

"I do," I told her.

"Good," Mary said. "So I take it that means that the next time Shelly comes home for a visit, you'll be with him? You're family now, so you gotta start acting like it."

"Sure," I said with a chuckle. "I'll make sure to be there."

Sheldon arrived home just then and looked suspiciously at me and Mary. "What's going on?"

"I just invited Leonard to come out for Thanksgiving," Mary said cheerfully. "He accepted for the two of you, so I don't want to hear any excuses this year."

Sheldon blinked at us both as he tried to figure out if he had missed something. "Alright."

I walked over to give my partner a kiss on the cheek. "This is a good thing, Shelly."

He looked at me and then nodded. "Well, alright then. I suppose we'll be in Texas for Thanksgiving this year."


	7. Part Seven: Giving Thanks

**Part Seven: Giving Thanks**

We took the Sunset Limited train out of Los Angeles all the way to Houston the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It took two days on the train to get there, so we didn't actually arrive until Tuesday. I knew that Sheldon preferred the train, and once I got past the idea that we were wasting time by not flying, I decided it wasn't too bad. Actually, it was nice. We played video games and watched movies on our laptops. We talked about anything and everything and ate our meals in the dining car. We made love on the lower bunk to the rhythm on the train's rocking. Sheldon was happy spending most of his days in our sleeping car, but I liked to explore the train when I started getting cabin fever. It gave us a little bit of time apart and helped me from getting claustrophobic.

When we finally arrived in Houston, we picked up a rental car and headed towards the Cooper home in Galveston. It was only an hour drive from the train station to their house, and Mary had offered to pick us up, but I was pretty sure that Sheldon and I would need the freedom of having a car while we were there. As much as Sheldon loved his mother, his family drove him nuts. And if Sheldon was agitated, he would drive me nuts. A rental car seemed more economical than couples' therapy later.

"Sheldon! Leonard!" Mary cried happily as she opened the front door of her home to us. "I'm so glad you both made it safe." We both accepted hugs from her and followed her inside the house. "Now, Missy and her boyfriend will be here later today, but George Jr. won't be showing up until Tomorrow evening. He couldn't get off work until then."

"He's still here in Galveston?" I asked as I took a seat on the sofa.

"Yep," Mary said. "Working the oil rigs. It's long hours and hard work, but it pays good."

"He makes almost as much as you do, Leonard," Sheldon said. Sheldon was well aware of how much money I made. Physicists don't really make that great of money. It isn't bad, but not like being a high priced lawyer or a medical doctor. And those of us in the academic realms made less than researchers who worked for the government or private corporations. Then again, we didn't have to worry about our work being used to blow up some unsuspecting country, either. I made about 80% of what Sheldon made a year, but between the two of us, we certainly had more than enough money to get by.

It was funny, but when I moved in with Sheldon, it was because we were both still paying off our student loans and couldn't afford to live alone, but that had changed a long time ago. I should have realized that there was more to me staying than just friendship when we had both paid off our debts but still chose to cohabitate. As I thought about it, I realized why Penny, Raj and Howard hadn't been all that surprised when they found out about me and Sheldon. In fact, no one was really surprised, not even Mary.

The afternoon passed with me and Sheldon catching up with Mary while she prepared meatloaf for dinner. She even made the mashed potatoes with chicken broth instead of milk and butter just for me. When Missy arrived with her boyfriend, there was more talking and catching up over dinner and dessert. Then we were all shooed to bed. I was really surprised when Mary said that I would be staying with Sheldon in his room. I knew that she said she was okay with us, but I hadn't really expected her to be _that_ okay. But I was smart enough not to voice my feelings on the matter and simply took her at her word.

The next day, we all drove to a ranch about an hour away where Sheldon's great aunt and cousins lived. It was interesting meeting them, but I found that they weren't nearly as accepting as Mary and Missy had been so far. I got a lot of dark looks and I overheard a few conversations that made me wish we had brought two cars so that Sheldon and I could leave. The family consensus seemed to be that I had led poor, odd, naïve Shelly astray with my wicked northern ways. It did make me wonder what they would have said if I had been a nice southern boy.

"I would not concern yourself with their opinion," Sheldon told me that night when I explained why I had been quiet on the drive back to town. His accent was stronger now that he was surrounded by his family. "They have never understood or accepted anyone who was different from them. I have always been abnormal to them. The only reason they weren't speaking negatively about me this time was because they had an outsider to blame."

"They shouldn't talk negatively about either of us," I said quietly. "Just because we aren't exactly like them doesn't give them a right to judge us. And as much as I hated them talking bad about me, I would hate to have them talk bad about you even more."

"It isn't a matter of rights," Sheldon said. "In nature, animals will attack their own kind if they are different in any way."

"We aren't animals," I told him.

"No, we aren't," Sheldon said. "But that doesn't mean that my relatives aren't."

I chuckled and hugged Sheldon closer to me. "Goodnight, Sheldon."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Sheldon was up early to watch the parade the next morning with Missy. The two of them had great fun betting on which balloons would cause the most trouble in the wind. It was the first time I ever really saw them acting like siblings. It was actually very cute. When George Jr. arrived with his girlfriend, he joined them in their game and I headed to the kitchen to let the siblings bond.

"Those kids of mine have a warped sense of humor," Mary said with a shake of her head when I told them what they were doing. "They've always done that. I never could understand it."

I spent the next couple hours helping Mary get dinner ready. Well, mostly, I just followed directions and stirred when she told me to stir or chopped what she told me to chop. It was actually pretty fun. Mary gave me some tips for cooking and promised that she would give me a couple cooking lessons before we left for California. Then Mary's brother Jack showed up with Memaw in tow. I was told in no uncertain terms that I was to call her Memaw and I was embraced just like one of her grandchildren. Then she and Mary both went to work educating me on the finer points of cooking.

By the time we sat down to eat, my head was spinning with information, but I thought I might just be able to follow a recipe. Plus Mary and Memaw said that they would talk me through cooking dinner the next day. I was actually pretty excited by the prospect.

Seated at the dining room table, we all held hands while Memaw said grace and then everyone took turns sharing what they were most thankful for. The sharing was one tradition that my family had actually participated in, but ours always ended up being a contest of sorts to brag about who had accomplished the most in the past year. At the Cooper home, people were grateful for simpler things like family and friends and health.

"I'm thankful to be a part of your family," I said when it was my turn. "And I'm thankful to have Sheldon as my partner."

Then it was Sheldon's turn and he looked at me for a long moment. "I'm thankful for you too. Which is why I wanted to ask if you would consider making our partnership formal. I realize that as far as the two of us are concerned, that there is no question of the permanence of our relationship, however, I understand that when one wants to spend the remaining years of one's life with a singular person, that social conventions dictate an outward display of that intention."

I blinked at Sheldon. "Are you asking me to marry you?" I glanced around the table and realized that everyone seemed to be holding their breath in anticipation of Sheldon's answer.

"That would be one way to formalize our partnership," Sheldon said. "And since California recently reenacted the same-sex marriage law, we can legally do so. But if you prefer, we could simply file for domestic partnership."

"Oh hell no," Mary swore. "I want to see my baby boy get married."

I grinned at Sheldon. "I think that means we have to have a wedding."

"So your answer is yes?" Sheldon pressed.

"Yes," I told him.

Even Memaw let out a whoop to celebrate, and George insisted on opening up a bottle of champagne. We toasted to a long and happy future and then dug in to the wonderful dinner.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Sheldon and I went to bed that night and I so dearly wanted to make love, but we were in Mary Cooper's house and it just didn't seem right. Instead we kissed a bit and talked a bit. I can't recall exactly what was said, but mostly it was about things that had happened that day. I was so happy that most of the day blurred together.

Friday morning, Mary woke me up early to go Christmas shopping. Now, Black Friday shopping was not something with which I was familiar. I wasn't sure why Sheldon was allowed to sleep late while I was dragged from our bed at an insane hour, but I knew better than to argue with my future mother-in-law. Missy came with us, and the three of us went from store to store looking for the best bargains. The fact that there were thousands of other people all out doing the same thing made it all even crazier.

But I do have to admit that I got a good start on my holiday shopping. Since Sheldon was rather inept at the whole gift giving thing, we had long ago agreed that he would simply let me buy the presents for our friends and we would give them together. There were only three gifts that Sheldon bought without my help: mine, his mother's and Memaw's. The fact that he even agreed to buy those three was a small miracle in my mind, so I didn't complain. Especially since it wasn't that long ago when he refused to buy gifts at all.

We returned to the house a little after noon with bags filled with gifts. I was exhausted. But the good news was that George and Sheldon had been recruited by Memaw to help make brunch for everyone, so we had a nice meal to eat when we arrived. Then, I was sent off to bed for a short nap.

When I got back downstairs a couple hours later, I was summoned for my next cooking lesson. It was funny, but I never would have thought I would enjoy something like that, but I found myself wishing that my mother had taught me some of the things those two women were teaching me. Then again, my mother didn't really cook, either.

Mary handed me a cookbook that looked like it was older than I was and I opened it to the page about meatloaf. As I worked my way through the recipe, Memaw and Mary both commented on all the ways I could change up the recipe. For instance, Memaw swore that Worcestershire sauce was essential, but Mary said that Sheldon preferred his meatloaf with a little A-1 sauce. They both agreed that ketchup could not be substituted.

"You can make notes in the margins," Mary said. "You're taking this book home with you. I have another copy."

And so, I made notes in the margins. Once the meatloaf was in the oven, they told me about how to time the different dishes so that they would be finished at the same time while we peeled and boiled potatoes. While the potatoes cooked, Mary showed me how to cook snap beans and then Memaw showed me how to whip a quick and easy icebox lemon pie. I took notes on everything.

When dinner was finally served, I noted how pleased Sheldon seemed with each dish. He loved the meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but wasn't as fond of the snap beans. He really loved the lemon pie.

While Jack, George and Sheldon did the cleanup, Mary turned to me and said, "I'll make a list of all of Sheldon's favorite dishes. Most of them are from that cookbook. I was a worse cook than you when I got married, so a lot of what I learned came from that book."

I frowned. "Didn't Memaw teach you?"

"Some," Mary said. "But we didn't always get on. I was a stubborn girl before I married George and started raising kids. And my mother didn't have the patience then that she has now. That's why we don't always agree on the best way to cook something. When you get home, you practice with some of the easier dishes and I promise you that you'll get better. And you can always call me for help. I can talk you through just about anything."

"Thanks," I said sincerely as Memaw joined us in the living room, now that she was satisfied that the boys were doing a good job.

Mary just smiled at me. "You already take good care of my boy, but this way, I'll know that both of you are eating better."

"You gotta cut out the butter," Memaw said. "Hain't good for the heart and you boys ain't getting' any younger. You wanna live as long as me, you gotta watch what you eat, Lenny."

"I can't eat butter anyway," I told her. "Or any dairy, really, but I will start watching our fat and cholesterol."

"No dairy?" Memaw said. "Then how do you eat pizza? I know my Shelly loves his pizza."

I smiled at that. "We order without cheese if it's just the two of us. If we have friends over, we order one with cheese and one without."

Memaw narrowed her eyes at me. "That boy _must_ love you iffin he's eatin' pizza without no cheese. That ain't pizza."

"I suppose he must," I said. And truthfully, I suppose I should have known that Sheldon loved me long before he ever asked me on a date. Because he gave up cheese on his pizza just for me.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

The moment the train pulled out of the station on Saturday, I dragged Sheldon to our sleeper car and locked the door behind us.

"Leonard, what is this about?" Sheldon asked even as he allowed me to press him against the door with my body.

"I've been dying to do this all week," I said and then captured his lips in a heated kiss.

The return trip to Los Angeles was spent almost entirely in bed.


	8. Part Eight: Wedding Plans

**Part Eight: Wedding Plans**

"Have you seen these magazines?" Sheldon asked from his place on the sofa. It was just after New Year, but we hadn't really had much time to think about the wedding with the holidays. But that Saturday, everything was back to what passed for normal for us and he had a stack of bridal magazines on the table in front of him and had been "doing research" for most of the morning. "Some of the suggestions they make are simply illogical. Why on earth would anyone spend $5,000 on a dress that will only be worn once? And why would we want to get married while jumping from an airplane?"

"We wouldn't" I said with frown, afraid that Sheldon might just get something weird in his head. "I don't think that those magazines are really for people like us. I think they cater more towards…"

"Women?" Sheldon asked. "I had noted that they all have the word 'bride' in some form or another in the title."

"Yeah," I said. "Listen, I stopped by the book store yesterday and found some books I thought could be more useful for us."

I fished the two books from by satchel and handed them over.

" _Wedding Planning for Dummies_? _The Complete_ _Idiots Guide to the Perfect Wedding_?" Sheldon asked with disdain. "I refuse to reference a book that insults my intelligence."

"They aren't really insulting your intelligence," I told him. "It's supposed to be a joke. It's really just a simplified guide for people who aren't familiar with the subject. Like us."

Sheldon was still frowning, but he at least opened one of the books. "Oh. This is… rather simple." He scanned through the introduction and then looked up at me. "This makes much more sense than those magazines, though I'm still not sure that everything they suggest is necessary."

"Well, why don't we do what we did with the sex list," I said. "We can go through the book together and figure out what we both want and what we don't want and then can make a plan from there."

"Well, this says that the first thing we should do is determine the type of wedding we want," Sheldon said. He looked up at me with wide eyes. "It says some people choose a theme!"

I groaned. "We aren't having a Start Trek themed wedding. Your mother and my mother would both kill us."

"It doesn't have to be Star Trek," Sheldon said. "We could do Star Wars or Dr. Who…"

"As much fun as that sounds, I think that we should probably stick to something a little more traditional," I said.

Sheldon pouted for a moment, but then nodded. "Memaw wouldn't want to dress up, anyway. So, we need to determine the location, formality, time of day, and number of guests?"

I bit my lip for a moment but then just went ahead and said what I had been thinking about since he asked me at Thanksgiving. "I was thinking maybe we could get married at the Arboretum, where we had our first date."

Sheldon's eyes widened. "Oh. Actually… Well, it would mean working around the weather and the season but… I like that idea."

"We wouldn't necessarily have to hold it outside," I said. "There's a greenhouse where we could have it, as long as we keep it relatively small. And I was thinking we could do both the ceremony and the reception there."

"That greenhouse overlooks the lawn where we watched the concert," Sheldon said with a nod. "And you know that I would prefer a small gathering."

"I do know that," I said. "So should we call the Arboretum and see when they have available. We can make the rest of the plans from there."

With Sheldon's agreement, I looked up the number and eventually reached the person in charge of booking such events. I wasn't that surprised that they were actually pretty busy, but we did get a few options. I asked the woman to wait for a moment while I talked it over with Sheldon.

"They have a Saturday in March, a Sunday in April, one Sunday in May and then there's nothing open all summer except one Saturday in the middle of July," I said. "But there are quite a few options for the fall and winter."

Sheldon frowned. "March is really soon, but I would prefer that we hold it in the spring or summer. I also believe that Saturday would be easier for our family, who would have to travel home afterward."

"So July?" I asked.

"July it is," Sheldon said decisively.

I unmuted the phone and said, "We'll take Saturday, July18th." I listened as she went through a few details, writing them down. "So, we can tour the space beforehand? Okay. I suppose we'll need to talk with our caterer before we schedule that." I listened again as she told me about several caterers that they worked with frequently, who were already familiar with the setting. I wrote those down as well. When I hung up the phone, I had a lot more questions that we needed to settle.

"So, we have a place and a date, but we still need to get a caterer that's available then," I said. "And she suggested an afternoon wedding to get the most from the setting. We'll have the space for the entire day for set up and cleanup. If we go with a caterer besides one that she suggested, we'll need to make sure that they will take care of the chairs and tables and such, since not all do. Some only provide the food. She also suggested we might consider hiring a wedding planner."

Sheldon shook his head. "I do not want a wedding planner. It is our wedding and I would rather we handle everything."

"I'm okay with that," I said. "She just suggested it, because it can be a lot of work. Especially with only six months to plan."

"We have a combined IQ of 380," Sheldon scoffed. "I do believe that we can handle a simple wedding."

"Let's just start calling caterers," I said. "Is there any on this list that you would prefer trying first?"

And so we went through the list. Of course, we weren't lucky enough to get Sheldon's first or second choice, but I thought that the third caterer was probably best for us anyway.

"Look, they specialize in casual Southern cuisine," I said as we perused their website. "And they have won national awards for their barbecue."

"But what kind of barbecue?" Sheldon asked. "Because I can tell you that there is a big difference between Texas barbecue and Tennessee barbecue."

"Look," I said. "The head chef is from Houston. And we can ask when we call."

"Oooh, look at those cute little desserts!" Sheldon exclaimed. "We should get some of those."

"What about cake?" I asked.

"We can have that too," Sheldon said. "But I like those teeny desserts."

The desserts that had Sheldon so enraptured were actually served in tall, thin shot glasses or in bite sized pieces. It was pretty cute.

We called the caterer and, as luck would have it, they had recently had a cancellation for that date and were happy to fit us in. We set up a time to meet with them to go over the menu and also tour the space to make decisions about tables and chairs and such.

"We need to set up a budget," Sheldon said when I mentioned to him how much the Arboretum was going to charge us.

The rest of the afternoon passed as we attempted to figure out exactly what we would need for the wedding and how much money we could afford to spend on each. We both agreed that the food was more important to us than just about anything else, so a large portion of our budget went to the caterer. But there were still the clothes and rings and flowers and cake. We'd need to order invitations, and Sheldon wanted to set up a wedding website. Then there was the photographer and videographer. And most importantly, there was the honeymoon.

"What else does the book say we need to do right away?" I asked Sheldon.

"We need to choose our wedding party," Sheldon said. "This says, besides the best man and maid of honor, we should have 1 usher for every fifty guests."

"I was thinking of asking Penny to be my best person," I said. "But I won't if that makes you uncomfortable."

"By all means," Sheldon said. "I had assumed that you would ask either Koothrapali or Wolowitz, but I do not object to Penny. I thought I might ask Missy to be my, as you say, best person."

"Actually, that will work out great," I said. "Then Howard and Raj can be our ushers."

"I call dibs on Raj," Sheldon said quickly.

"Fine," I chuckled. "I'll take Howard. We should ask the girls right away. And offer to pay for Missy's travel expenses when you ask her. You and I both know she can't afford to make the trip very often."

"I'll add both Penny and Missy's travel costs to the budget," Sheldon offered as he pulled up that spreadsheet on his laptop. "And I'll call Missy tomorrow."

"I'll call Penny tomorrow, too," I said. "And I'll invite the guys over to ask them tomorrow evening."

"So, is that all for today?" Sheldon asked. "Because we need to get ready for date night."

"I'm pretty sure anything else can wait until tomorrow," I said. "Where are we going tonight?"

"I thought we could go see a movie and have dinner," Sheldon said. "Unless you have something else in mind?"

"No, that sounds perfect," I told him.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Penny squealed when I told her that Sheldon had proposed, so I was prepared when she squealed this time. I had heard a similar reaction from Missy when Sheldon called her. It must be a female thing, because Raj and Howard didn't squeal, but they were pleased that we asked them. Both girls, however, asked what colors we were using, and neither of us could give them an answer. We eventually told them that we would get back to them, and then the two of them could work out what kind of dress they wanted to wear. In all honesty, neither of us cared all that much.

We met with the caterer after work that week. We met at the Arboretum to look at the venue and go over some of the details. We met with the Arboretum's representative, too.

"How many people are you expecting?" Delia, the caterer's event planner asked.

"Um, we made up our guest list the other day," I said. "Between friends, relatives and colleagues, we have about 100 people to invite, but we don't actually expect more than about half of them to actually come. Both of our families live in other parts of the country, so it will probably only be our immediate families that actually come."

"Well, let's be conservative and assume that 70 people will attend," Delia said. "It's easier to reduce the number later. Now, I've planned weddings here before, and with the number you are expecting, there won't be enough space for seating for both the ceremony and a formal dinner."

"We were actually thinking of keeping things pretty informal," I told her.

Sherry, the Arboretum's rep, said, "We had a couple get married in here recently who had everyone stand through the ceremony. But we've also had couples who simply seated the guests at the dinner tables and had the ceremony on the dance floor in the center of the room."

"Would it be possible to have smaller tables?" Sheldon asked.

"We were actually thinking of keeping things really informal and letting people just sit wherever they want," I said. "And if we do small tables, like at a café, there would be plenty of room for guests to move around."

"I do like the idea of just having the ceremony in the center of the room," Sheldon said.

"I'll make note to have our staff set up the temporary dance floor," Sherry said as she made a note on her clipboard.

"We can set up café tables around the perimeter," Delia confirmed. "What about for the wedding party? Do you want to have a separate table for them? And what about the two of you?"

"No, we can all just mingle with everyone," I said. "I don't think either of us really wants to be on display for the reception."

"That will happen anyway," Sherry said with a sympathetic smile. "No matter where you choose to sit."

"Okay, so if we're centering the space around the dance floor, we'll need to keep this end of the open for when the guests arrive," Delia said. "After entering, we'll greet them with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. We can set up the bar in this corner and the gift table over there. We'll have a place for the guest book near the door. And on the far side of the room is where we'll set up the cake table and another bar."

"What about the food?" Sheldon asked. "I had assumed that it would be a buffet."

"I told her you hate buffets," I said.

"Well, they are rather unhygienic," Sheldon said.

"Leonard said that you were taken by the single serving desserts we offered," Delia said. "We can also serve the various courses in single servings and in unique serving containers. For instance, we often serve salads in small Chinese food containers."

"That sounds like fun," Sheldon said. "Alright, but I want to be surprised about what everything is going to be served in."

"As long as you approve the menu, I think we can surprise you about how it's served," Delia said with a grin. "Have you decided on colors?"

I groaned at that. "We've been trying to figure this one out since our best persons asked the same question so they can buy their dresses."

"We have no idea how one goes about choosing colors," Sheldon said.

"Maybe we can come back to that," Delia said with a small frown. "You said that you were interested in barbecue?"

"Texas barbecue," Sheldon specified. "If it isn't Texan, we don't want it."

Delia smiled. "I assure you that Chad is definitely Texan and wouldn't serve anything else. What I was thinking is that if you wish to keep things simple, perhaps we can play on that theme for the entire reception."

"Ooh, a theme," Sheldon said. "Leonard already nixed my Star Trek idea, but I suppose barbecue would be a suitable theme. Memaw will certainly approve."

"What kinds of things remind you of a barbecue from your childhood?" Delia asked.

"We always drank lemonade or sweet tea from mason jars," Sheldon said with a small smile. "Memaw made greens and Auntie Fran made mac and cheese with a cracker crumb top. Grandpa Jim always lit the oil lanterns after it got dark."

"Did you use table cloths?" Delia asked even as she wrote down the things that Sheldon was saying.

"Sometimes," Sheldon said. "If we were at Memaw's she used a red checkered cloth. If we were at a church barbecue, they sometimes used burlap because it was easier and cheaper. One of the deacons worked at a feed and grain store and could get the burlap for free."

"Well, what if we used checkered tablecloths?" Delia asked. "Then we could use burlap placemats. And we can incorporate mason jars into the theme instead of traditional glasses. Instead of a formal bar, we could do a table with sweet tea and lemonade and a metal tub filled with ice and beer. You might think about using mason jars and oil lanterns for the centerpieces."

"I like that," Sheldon said. "What about you, Leonard?"

"My parents always liked Sangria in the summer," I said. "We could do that, too. And if we went to a cookout, there always seemed to be sparklers."

"I like sparklers," Sheldon said.

"Unfortunately, we can't have sparklers inside the greenhouse," Sherry said. "But you could give them to the guests on the way out. There's plenty of space on the lawn."

"We could do favors with sparklers," I said. Favors were another topic we had both dreaded.

"That would be fun and unique," Delia said.

"So, that all sounds great," I said. "But which things do we need to take care of, and which will you take on?"

"I'll handle everything on the tables except the favors," Delia said. "I know a good florist and can get the lanterns and mason jars wholesale for you. I'll need to sit down and run the numbers before I can give you an estimate on the cost, but I rarely get the chance to really design an event, so if you let me have free reign, I'll discount my fees."

"Sounds like a bargain," I said.

"As for what you need to handle, as far as decorations and such go, just the favors," Delia said. "I'll give you my florist's number so you can arrange for her to do the bouquets and boutonnieres to match the centerpieces."

"Is there anything else we need to decide tonight?" I asked.

"Nothing from me," Delia said. "We've got a meeting set to go over the menu next week, and I'll call if I have any other questions for you."

"I do have one question," Sherry said. "We can arrange for valet parking for an additional fee, but I'll need to know in advance if you want that service so that I can make the arrangements."

"We'll get back to you on that one," I told her. "Soon."


	9. Part Nine: More Wedding Plans

**Part Nine: More Wedding Plans**

Planning a wedding wasn't nearly as simple as either Sheldon or those books would have you believe. Every time I turned around there seemed to be one more thing that we hadn't even considered. Even with Delia handling the bulk of the decorating, that still left us with a lot to do. One unexpected thing that came out of our meeting with Delia, however, was the selection of a color and a dress style. Not that we knew that we had done so. Penny had to explain it to me when I described the meeting to her.

"Leonard, it's very simple," Penny said. "Since you're going with a barbecue theme, complete with red checked tablecloths, Missy and I will have to be in red and white summer dresses, possibly with a gingham pattern. And you and Sheldon should wear linen suits. Maybe tan with white shirts and ties with a small floral pattern. Or poplin suits. Those would look great, too. Raj and Howard could wear vests instead of suit jackets."

"Okay," I said. "And you'll coordinate with Missy on the dresses?" I asked.

"We've just been waiting to hear about the color," Penny said. "And don't worry; I'll email you with all the details for you boys to take to the tailor with you. Get the suits custom made, Leonard. This is your wedding."

"Okay, okay," I said with a sigh. "But I hope you know how hard it's going to be to convince Sheldon."

In truth, it wasn't all that hard to convince Sheldon. Once he saw the sample suit at the tailor's, he was convinced.

"It's just like Grandpa Jim used to wear to church in the summer," Sheldon said.

But, clothes weren't the only necessity. Because Sheldon wanted to do a website, we had to hire a photographer early on in the process so that we would have photos to post. Getting two of the most awkward people in the world to loosen up in front of a camera was a herculean effort for the poor guy, but I had to admit that the photos turned out great. We hired him for the wedding, too.

Another major obstacle was the honeymoon. Getting the two of us to agree on the perfect vacation was next to impossible. Sheldon wanted to go to New York to visit the Hayden Planetarium and the Natural History Museum. I thought that was a nice idea for a regular vacation, but wasn't thrilled about it as a honeymoon. I thought Paris would be nice. We both ruled out anywhere with a beach. Both of us burned to a crisp in the sun. Finally, I bribed him with the promise of train travel to get him to agree to a European honeymoon. We booked a three week trip that included days in London, Paris, Salzburg, Prague, Vienna, Venice and Rome with at least two days in each city. And we were booked on trains to get from city to city. I think Sheldon was most excited by the prospect of taking the high-speed Eurostar between London and Paris, but I was really excited to take the Orient Express between Prague, Vienna and Venice.

Of course, once we had booked everything, Sheldon had to start arranging our itinerary. Everything from what we would see to where we would eat was covered in the fifteen page document.

While he did that, I made sure both of our passports were up to date, checked in with Delia often, and tried my best to keep up with everything for the wedding. It wasn't that Sheldon wasn't interested in helping, but he was getting nervous about the whole thing which meant that he was becoming more difficult to deal with. Rather than have our help quit on us, I took over most of the communications with the various vendors. I did, however, make frequent use of the budget and calendar that Sheldon had put together.

I have to say that sampling the menu was one of my favorite activities. Sure I couldn't have the five cheese macaroni and cheese, but I could eat pretty much everything else on the menu. But even that experience couldn't beat the cake tasting.

Delia recommended a bakery, so we set up an appointment to meet with them to choose a type of cake and how we wanted it to be decorated. Sheldon's eyes went wide when he saw how many samples they had for us. Mine were probably just as wide. They had made cupcakes in each of the flavors they recommended, a total of fifteen varieties from which to choose. Most of them were dairy free, since we had already specified that I was lactose intolerant.

"Ooh, try this one, Leonard," Sheldon said. It was a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. I tried it and it was delicious.

After tasting everything, I could honestly say that there really wasn't anything I didn't like. My favorite was the lemon pound cake with a simple glaze. But the apple spice cake was great too.

"I can't decide," Sheldon whined.

"I can't either," I said with a sigh. Then I looked at the cupcakes that were still on display in the bakery case. "But maybe we don't have to decide on just one. Instead of a traditional cake, would it be possible to do cupcakes instead? I mean, we're doing a sort of informal wedding, anyway."

Charlie, the baker nodded. "We get the request occasionally. We usually present them on tiered trays, like a wedding cake. Now you said that you expect about 70 to 80 people?" I nodded. "Well then, I would recommend 12 dozen cupcakes. Most people will eat more than one. Or we could do the mini cupcakes. In that case I would recommend 36 dozen."

"I want the mini cupcakes, Leonard," Sheldon said. "They'll go with the mini desserts."

I smiled at him. "Fine, we'll go with the mini cupcakes. Two dozen each of the chocolate peanut butter, lemon pound, apple spice, mocha, cookies and cream, vanilla bean, chocolate hazelnut, and the triple chocolate. We have a friend with a nut allergy. Will we be able to keep the cakes with nuts separate from the others?"

"We're pretty conscious of keeping nut products separate," Charlie said. "We use separate equipment for anything containing nuts. There's still the possibility of cross contamination, but it's less than with many places. And we can serve the two varieties with nuts on a separate tray."

"It should be well labeled," Sheldon said.

"We can do that," Charlie said. "So, July 18th at the Arboretum? What time?"

"The ceremony is scheduled for 3:00," I told him. "But the ceremony and reception are all in the same space, so we would need to have everything set up by 2:00, when the cocktail hour starts."

With the cake taken care of, the invitations delivered, the website set up, the suits ordered, the venue booked, the caterer hired, and the officiant hired, by the end of March, we were well on our way to having our perfect wedding. Well, as perfect as it could be without Star Trek being involved.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"I am not comfortable with this entire process," Sheldon said as he picked up a gravy boat and then put it back down. "If everyone buys us gifts, then we will be in their debt. There is a reciprocal expectation with the giving of gifts."

I could still recall Sheldon's panic one Christmas over what he should give Penny. Or more precisely, how much he should spend on a gift for her. When she gave him a signed napkin that Leonard Nemoy had actually used, he ended up giving her a whole store's worth of bath products. Given that experience, I was surprised that I had gotten him to the store to register for gifts at all.

"Think of it this way," I told him. "We're spending a lot of money on food and decorations to throw this wedding. The gift is the guests' way to reciprocate. And then, if our friends get married at a later date, we'll bring them a gift."

Sheldon looked down at the gravy boat again. "We're spending more than this on food."

"We don't really need a gravy boat, do we?" I asked as he started to scan the tag. "Besides, we haven't even decided what pattern we want yet."

"We don't really need new dishes at all," Sheldon said as he put the gravy boat down again.

"Well, we don't have to ask for dishes," I said with a shrug. "I would like some new pans. I've been getting better at cooking since your mom and Memaw gave me lessons. But we don't even have a complete set of pans, not to mention I can't make any of those casseroles if we don't have a casserole dish. And Sheldon, if I find out that you have used any of the new kitchen items for anything but their designated purpose I will make you sleep on the couch—in other words, measuring cups are not to be used for urine cups."

"Fine," Sheldon said. "And I moved all of the non-cooking items out of the kitchen after the last time."

We headed to that section and I quickly picked out some items that I wanted. Sheldon added a blender that looked like a rocket ship and a toaster that toasted the image of the Enterprise on the bread. I shrugged and let him have his fun.

"We could use new sheets, too," I said as we walked over towards that area of the store. "Maybe a new comforter."

"My mother said we should replace the bath mats the last time she visited," Sheldon said.

"We could ask for coordinating towels," I said. "We've only ever had mismatched towels."

"Towels should be white," Sheldon said. "So that they can be bleached."

We found a set of white towels that Sheldon liked and then picked bath mats and a new shower curtain in shades of blue. Sheldon found shower hooks, a toothbrush holder and cup to match and we added those to the registry before moving on to the bedding. Since neither of us was very particular when it came to decorating, we simply looked at the various sample beds until we found one we both liked and then just added everything to the registry.

"Now what?" Sheldon asked. "We haven't even put half as many items on this list as we have guests."

I shrugged. "The books suggested decorative items."

"We can't get decorative items here," Sheldon said with a frown. "But I don't think Stuart has a registry."

"We could always just ask him," I said. "And if he won't do it, we could make up a list on Amazon and post it to the website."

"Now that is a plan," Sheldon said with satisfaction.

And that was how we ended up with some rather cool stuff, including a signed poster from the first Start Trek movie, on our registry.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"So I have to buy you a gift?" Sheldon asked me a few days later.

"I guess so," I shrugged. "That's what the book says, anyway."

"But how do I know what to get for you?" Sheldon asked. "And how much do I spend?"

"How about this, we set an estimated price," I said. "And then you can work from within those parameters. You just have to find something that you think I would want."

Sheldon nodded. "How much?"

"Between $150 and $200," I said.

"That's too wide of a margin," Sheldon said. "Between $175 and $200."

"Okay," I said with a shrug. In truth, I had no more idea what to get Sheldon than he had.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Picking out wedding rings was actually not that bad. Sheldon and I both preferred something simple, so we chose plain platinum bands and had our initials and the date of the wedding engraved on the inside. While we were at that store, we also picked out gifts for our wedding party. Missy and Penny both got pendant necklaces. I picked out a snowflake for Penny and Sheldon picked a heart for Missy.

The guys' gifts were a little harder to choose. Neither Raj nor Howard really wore much jewelry. They didn't wear the kinds of shirts that required cuff links. They didn't wear bracelets or necklaces. They rarely even wore ties.

In the end, we left the store without gifts for them. But a few days later, on date night, we ended up at a craft fair. It wasn't intentional, or anything, since craft fairs aren't really our thing, but it was in the shopping area where we were headed for dinner, and so we took a few minutes to look around. At one stall, we found a guy who made custom jewelry. He had several really cool pins that reminded me a lot of the Star Fleet insignia from Star Trek.

"Could you make something to order?" I asked.

The guy shrugged. "Depends on what you want?"

"We want two Start Trek badges," I said.

"Like they wear on their uniforms?" he asked even as he nodded. "Sure, I could do that. It'll take a few weeks, though."

"We wouldn't need them until July," I said. "They're gifts for the ushers for our wedding."

He smiled at us. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," I said.

Sheldon tugged on my sleeve until I turned to face him. "Leonard…"

I smiled at him. "You want one too?"

"Yes, please," Sheldon said.

"I suppose we could use these for our gifts to each other," I said.

Sheldon practically beamed at me. "That would solve that issue as well."

I turned back to the guy. "Can you make four of them before July?"

"Sure thing," he said. "I'll just need a deposit and your contact information. And you might email me the specific insignia you want copied. I'm pretty sure that the different series had different versions."

"I was thinking the starburst design of the original series but made with arch and oval from Next Generation," I said and Sheldon nodded.

"I prefer the oval to the oblong shape in Deep Space nine," Sheldon said. "And while it won't be entirely accurate, it would be a good representation of the franchise on the whole."

"I'll email you pictures of both," I said.

We walked away doubly pleased with our evening. We had solved the problem of gifts for our friends and gifts for each other.

"Can we wear them for the ceremony?" Sheldon asked eagerly. "It won't be as much fun as wearing the uniform, but… I don't think our mothers could object too much."

"Sure," I said. "We'll all wear them as lapel pins."

"Goody," Sheldon said and I couldn't help but revel in the fact that I could make the pickiest man in America so happy.


	10. Part Ten: Get Me to the Church on Time

**Part Ten: Get Me to the Church on Time**

I was late. I knew that it was bound to happen the minute that Sheldon called to tell me that he had forgotten the gifts for our attendants. Mary had insisted that we spend the night before the wedding in separate places, so I had spent the night with Raj and Howard. We had eaten a large breakfast and were just getting our things together to head over to the Arboretum when Sheldon called. Mary and Missy had driven him over, but he had forgotten the gifts, the one thing I asked him to bring.

I wasn't really upset. I knew that he was even more nervous about the wedding than I was. Add to that the fact that we had been forced to sleep apart for the first time in four years and I knew that Sheldon likely wasn't thinking clearly. It wasn't really surprising that he forgot the gifts. But it was annoying.

I sent Raj and Howard ahead and went back to our apartment. I found the gifts right where I left them, on the stand beside the door. Then I headed back out.

Once back in the car, it became clear right away that I wasn't going to make it to the Arboretum on time. Traffic was a mess. We had scheduled to take pictures before the ceremony, so I was supposed to be dressed and ready by noon. As I impatiently waited for the car in front of me to inch forward, I realized that it was already after 12. I reached for my cell phone to call Sheldon that I was running late, but realized that it was in the bag with my clothes for the wedding which Howard had taken with him. I swore and tried to keep calm.

By the time I arrived at the Arboretum, I could tell that all hell had broken loose. Raj greeted me with terrified eyes. "Dude! Where have you been? Sheldon's panicking! We tried to call you but got no answer!"

"I was stuck in traffic," I muttered. "And you couldn't reach me because my cell phone was in the bag Howard brought here. Where's Sheldon?"

Raj led me to the room where Sheldon was supposed to be getting ready and I went inside. Sheldon wasn't just panicking, he was hyperventilating.

"He's not coming," Sheldon gasped out between harsh breaths. "He's not coming."

"Shelly," I said, getting his attention even as I walked over to hug him. "I'm here. I just got caught in traffic. Come on; take a deep breath for me."

Sheldon struggled to do as I asked. He was trembling in my arms and had his face buried in my neck. "I thought you changed your mind. I thought you weren't coming," he mumbled when he could finally breath normally again.

I stepped back enough to look him in the eyes. "Shelly, I'm never gonna change my mind. You're stuck with me."

Sheldon nodded, and I could tell that he was starting to calm down because he looked embarrassed by his emotional display. Only Raj, Missy and Mary had been there to witness it, but it embarrassed him nonetheless.

"You're terribly late, Leonard," Sheldon finally scolded. "You need to get dressed so we can have the pictures taken!"

I grinned at him. "I'll go change right now. Here, give Raj and Missy their gifts."

I found Howard and Penny waiting for me two rooms down and soon enough I was rushing to change clothes while they opened their gifts. Penny loved the pendant and Howard actually squealed when he saw the badge. We had each of them engraved on the back with the date of the wedding. In truth, I was pretty damned impressed when I saw the finished product. It was a lot nicer than some of the cheap badges that were available online. The guy used real silver for the arch and bronze for the oval. The starburst was a cutout, and the oval and arch both were edged with a small raised lip. I pinned my own badge on and then Penny and I helped Howard pin his on his vest.

Penny looked beautiful in the red sundress she and Missy had picked out. It had little white flowers with tiny blue centers all over it. I had just seen Missy wearing the same dress, but I hadn't really had time to notice it. I have to say that Penny looked great, and for a fleeting moment, I felt a little of that same attraction that I had felt early in our friendship. But then Howard reminded us that Sheldon was waiting and all thoughts of Penny fled my mind. No fleeting leftover feelings for my ex could compare with the very real and very strong love that I felt for Sheldon.

"Let's go," I said with a smile.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

I kind of understood why those reality shows focused on the insanity around weddings. I could certainly sympathize with the brides who screamed at their mothers or threw flowers at the bridesmaid. As the day wore on, it felt like a hundred things went wrong. The florist was late getting the boutonnieres and bouquets to us—probably stuck in the same traffic I had been—so we had to take the pictures without them. Delia arrived with the bad news that they hadn't been able to get the right kind of greens, and so had substituted with snap beans, which I knew Sheldon didn't really like. And then Howard and Penny started arguing about whether she should wear heals since she was already a few inches taller than him.

But for everything that went wrong, fifteen went right. Even though we were late getting started, the photos went without a problem. The greenhouse looked spectacular, just like a barbecue or picnic. The tables were great. The mason jars filled with wild flowers were beautiful next to the old-fashioned oil lanterns. The florist had used tin milk cans for larger bouquets on the various serving tables. As the guests began to arrive, I stepped back and took a deep breath. Everything was going to be fine.

"How are you doing?" my mother asked. She had arrived in time for the pictures. My father hadn't come, but that wasn't a surprise since he was currently in Africa doing a field study. But Jane and Eric had both come with their respective spouses, so my family was at least represented. And mom and I had been getting a little closer since our talk.

"I'm nervous," I admitted. "But mostly about the ceremony and reception. I have no doubts about getting married to Sheldon."

"Try not to allow the small problems to overshadow the joy of this day," Mom told me. "Besides, everything is beautiful. And the hors d'oeuvres are delicious. If they are any indication of the capabilities of the caterer, you have nothing to fear."

"I just hate being the center of attention," I said. "I never like it when I'm guest lecturing and this is like a hundred times worse."

"Suck it up, Leonard," Mom told me with a small quirk of a smile.

I laughed at that and suddenly I felt a lot better. "Thanks Mom."

We hired two bands. The first played light jazz for the cocktail hour and they would also play the music for the ceremony. Then for the reception, we hired a band that played a mix of country, rock and pop. We had decided against doing a formal receiving line, since the whole affair was going to be in one place, so Sheldon and I mingled during the cocktail hour to greet our guests. More accurately, I mingled and greeted guests while Sheldon debated with Leslie Finkel for a while and then went off to talk to Amy.

When the time finally came for us to get ready, I was happy that my mother decided to come along. We gathered in the small hall between the greenhouse and the room the caterers were using while the band leader asked for everyone to take their seats. It didn't take long for that to happen and soon Howard and Penny were walking up to where the officiant was waiting. Then Raj and Missy made the same walk. Then it was my turn. I took my mother's arm and we walked in together. I dropped her at the table reserved for her and Mary, where Memaw was already seated, and then went to join the others. And then Sheldon escorted Mary to her seat.

The actual ceremony was pretty short and simple. We stuck to the traditional vows, but the officiant did say a few words about love and commitment. It was nice, but all I could really think about in those moments was Sheldon. He held my hand throughout the ceremony. When we exchanged rings, I noted that his hands were shaking just a little bit. Then again, so were mine. And finally it was time for the kiss, and I think I'll remember that kiss for the rest of my life. It was as sweet and tender as any kiss we have ever shared, and yet it held the promise of a future together.

Then it was done and everyone stood up and applauded. I flushed with embarrassment, and I know that Sheldon was similarly afflicted. But at the same time, I couldn't remember ever being happier.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Dinner started almost as soon as the ceremony ended. Sheldon and I grabbed cartons of salad as we walked around the room to greet our guests and got caught up in conversations. In fact, each of the courses was easy to carry with us we wandered from table to table. Even the barbecue was cut in such a way as to make it easy to eat with just a fork. I was actually really glad that we had left a lot of the food decisions to Delia, since she seemed to have thought about all the things we never would have. But as the main courses were being cleared, the lead singer for the band announced that it was time for our first dance. Sheldon and I shared a look of commiseration as we reluctantly headed to the center of the dance floor.

Somehow we made it through the first dance. Neither one of use were the most graceful of dancers, despite my mother's insistence that I take ballroom dance as a teen and Mary's insistence that Sheldon learn to square-dance. Even the brief lessons with Howard and Raj we had all taken just after Penny moved in hadn't changed the fact that we just weren't comfortable dancing. Especially in front of a room full of people. But we got through it. And then I danced with my mother while Sheldon danced with Mary and finally other people began to join us on the dance floor.

Sheldon led me from the dance floor as soon as it was polite to do so and we headed over to the bar area and grabbed two mason jars of sweet tea.

"So, not too bad, is it?" I asked my husband. And wasn't that a trip? Sheldon Cooper was my husband.

"I'm very pleased with the food," Sheldon said. "And my family seems to be relatively pleased as well. Other than the fact that we're inside a greenhouse in California, it is very much like a Texas barbecue. Memaw seems happy."

"My mother wondered why we went with such a casual theme, but I think she's having fun, too," I said.

"Did you notice Penny dancing with Leslie Winkle's new lab assistant?" Sheldon asked.

I turned to see where Sheldon was looking and chuckled. "I guess he's pretty good looking. Go Penny."

"When are they going to serve dessert?" Sheldon asked. "I want one of those cupcakes."

"I think they are waiting for us to do the whole cutting the cake and feeding each other thing," I told him.

"But the cakes are barely big enough for two bites," Sheldon said. "There is no logical reason to cut one."

"It's tradition," I said. "Come on, let's go talk to Delia and then we can have cake and all the other little desserts they made. Did you see the mini-pecan pies? And they have mini-strawberry shortcakes too."

A few minutes later, we were once again the center of attention as we stood in front of the dessert table and cut one of the mini-cupcakes in half and then fed each other. It was actually sort of cute. Charlie, the baker, had iced several of the cakes together on the top tier of one of the serving trays and placed two little grooms on the top. I fed Sheldon his bite of cupcake—after I had washed my hands and used hand sanitizer—and he gave me a small smile—the one he usually only gave me when we were alone—just as the photographer took a picture. I really hoped that picture turned out well.

There was more dancing, though both Sheldon and I spent most of our time mingling with our friends and family. We had a nice long visit with Memaw. And Sheldon ate entirely too many desserts with the excuse that they were so small that they hardly counted. By the time the party began to break up, Sheldon was on a sugar high like I hadn't seen in quite some time.

"We need to do the sparklers!" Sheldon said as he grabbed my hand. Then he changed directions. "No, we should open the presents! Or get more cake. I want one of the hazelnut one!"

"I think we've both had enough cake," I said. In truth, I was feeling a bit stuffed. "And we decided to wait to open the presents after we get back from our trip, remember?"

"Right, right," Sheldon said. "So sparklers?"

I nodded and took a few sparklers from the nearest table before heading outside where some of the other guests were lighting theirs. The sun had recently set and in the twilight the glittering lights dancing across the lawn was a special sight. It was the perfect way to end our wedding. And when Sheldon's last sparkler burned down, he turned to me with a soft kiss.

"Thank you, Leonard. Today was perfect."

"Thank you, Shelly," I said before kissing him in return. "Every day with you is perfect."


	11. Part Eleven: Moving On

**Part Eleven: Moving On**

I looked around the apartment and sighed. After more than ten years living there, it had recently become quite obvious that it wasn't ever going to get any bigger. Knowing that and getting Sheldon to face that fact were two completely different things. We had been married for almost two years at that point and had finally come back around to talking about having kids. We had been together as a couple for more than five years at that point and the time seemed right.

"If we are seriously going to consider having children, we need to seriously consider finding a bigger place to live," I finally told my husband.

Sheldon frowned, as though this thought was completely foreign to him. "But why?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Because this place is barely big enough for the two of us," I said. "Because kids need space and parks and good schools. Because they never have fixed the elevator."

"I see," Sheldon said thoughtfully. "I suppose those are valid points. But, as you know, I do not like change."

"I do know that," I said carefully. "But having children will mean a lot of changes. It will mean changes in our schedule and in our priorities. It will also mean taking their needs into consideration above our own."

Sheldon sat back in his spot on the sofa and nodded as he contemplated what I had said. He finally reached out a hand to me and I sat beside him. "Well then, I suppose that we need to start looking for a new place to live."

"You're sure?" I asked him. I really wanted kids, but I also wanted Sheldon to be happy. If kids were going to make him miserable, I'd rather it just be the two of us in that tiny apartment for the rest of our lives.

"I wish to have children with you and pass on our genetics to another generation," Sheldon said. "As you have rightly pointed out, in order to do that properly, we have to make certain sacrifices. I am willing to do so because I have weighed the positives against the negatives. Plus, I know how much you want kids."

I grinned. "So we can find a real estate agent and start looking for a new place?"

"If you find the agent, I'll begin making up a list of our requirements," Sheldon said.

I held back a groan. The agent was really going to have to earn his commission with Sheldon involved.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

House hunting was a unique experience. Neither Sheldon nor I had ever purchased a house before, so every step was new to us. Though we read up on the process and did as much research as we could, we were still unprepared for the realities of buying a home. Luckily, I found a very nice woman to act as our real estate agent and she seemed to have more patience than a saint. She took in all of Sheldon's reasons for refusing each house she showed us and used it to pare down the other places on her list. She didn't even blink an eye when Sheldon refused one place because it was too far from the comic book store.

It actually took us more than three months of looking before we found a place that Sheldon liked. By that point, I would have been happy with just about anything, but I was actually very pleased with the place we found. The house was located in a good school district, only two blocks from the elementary school so there were lots of children in the neighborhood, and was situated on a quiet little cul-de-sac, backing up to a quiet park. The neighbors were all young professionals, many of whom were just starting their own families. It was only a mile and a half from the university and wasn't far from any of the places that Sheldon deemed important, like the comic book store, the Cheesecake Factory, or his favorite bookstore.

The house itself was a ranch style with a two car garage, a fenced in swimming pool, a patio with a built in gas grill and a swing set in the large back yard. It was part of a fairly new housing development, which meant that it was only about five years old. Sheldon liked that the house had only had one owner before us and that it was still in great condition. I liked that it had a huge kitchen with restaurant grade appliances and a breakfast nook. I had really gotten into the cooking thing and knew that with kids it would become important. The kitchen actually opened up directly into the family room, and I could already picture our two sofas in there and having Raj and Howard over for game nights.

There were three bedrooms and a bathroom besides the master suite. There was also a half bath for guests near the family room. Sheldon was pretty happy about having a separate bathroom from the rest of the house. If we had guests or once we had kids, he wouldn't need to worry about sharing the shower with someone who was unwilling to wash their feet before bathing and he wouldn't have to schedule their bowel movements. He was used to sharing with me, by that point; though this bathroom had two sinks, so sharing would be even easier.

Aside from the great room—our real estate agent told us that's what the kitchen and family room was called—there was a formal living room and dining room, an office, and something called a bonus room over the garage.

"We could set up the computers either up here or in the office," Sheldon mused.

"I think we'd both prefer the office in the long run," I said. "It's large enough and can be closed off from the rest of the house if we need privacy, but it's closer to the rest of the house. Up here, we wouldn't really hear anything. But it would make a nice playroom for our kids someday. Or a movie room. Or a guest room, if we run out of bedrooms."

There was a small utility room between the kitchen and the garage which held the washer and dryer. There was also a good sized pantry right next to that. And the garage was large enough for storage. The current owners had built shelves along the back and side and still had plenty of room for two cars.

"Not that we need two cars," I said. "But you could start riding a bike to work, since we're so much closer here. That way you wouldn't be as dependent on me to get around."

"I don't ride bikes, Leonard," Sheldon reminded me. "But I could walk from here. And we're only a few blocks from the elementary school, so I could meet the children if you were in meetings or away. There's a lot of yard to maintain."

We walked back to the patio and I nodded as I looked it over. "We could check with the neighbors. One or more of them might use a service. We were going to have to hire someone to deal with that no matter where we chose. Neither of us is exactly good with that kind of thing."

"I like it here, Leonard," Sheldon finally said.

"Then let's put in an offer."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

It took some haggling to get the house. There were three other buyers who put in offers, but we won the small bidding war in the end. We paid a bit more than we had originally hoped, but we were still well within the budget we had set. Or I should say we were well within the budget that Sheldon had set. Over the years, we had fallen into roles: Sheldon took care of our finances and a lot of the cleaning while I took care of the garbage, the groceries and the cooking. We took care of other stuff as it came up. Anyway, we could afford to pay a little more for the house, especially since the market was favorable for buyers at the time, and the value would surely go up.

We got the news while at lunch at the university, and Raj and Howard were just as excited as we were. They had finally agreed to live together officially after Howard's mother moved to Florida with Howard's former dentist—to live in sin, as Howard put it—and the couple had bought a house not far from us.

Rather than try to decorate the place ourselves, we hired someone to help us out. Most of the stuff at the apartment would make the move, but there were a lot more rooms at the new house than there were in our old place, and Sheldon insisted that the entire place needed to be professionally cleaned and painted before we moved in, so it took a little longer to make the move than I might have originally hoped.

Still, moving day eventually arrived and we watched as everything we owned was loaded up into a moving truck and was driven away. We followed along behind, but not until we each said a fond farewell to our home at 2311 N. Los Robles. It was bittersweet for both of us—for me, because I tend to be pretty sentimental; for Sheldon because he has a really tough time with change—but the apartment was empty and none of the memories from our years there remained. They were all packed away in the moving van.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Unpacking was not as hard as settling into the new house. The unpacking part was simple: just find a place for everything. We had eventually decided to put up a few shelves in the bonus room, and that is where we displayed our vast collection of toys and memorabilia. Clothes went into the new dressers and the new walk in closet. Kitchen stuff went in the kitchen. The computers and other office things went into the new larger office. Our old living room furniture went into the family room and the new stuff went into the living room.

It took an entire afternoon for Sheldon to find the perfect spot to sit in the family room and then we spent an hour arranging the rest of the furniture to accommodate his spot. It was actually kind of interesting to watch as he tried out each position. He had previously used a small spotlight to simulate sunlight coming through the windows in order to determine the best position for the television, so getting just the right angle and distance was part of the process. And then there was the determination of where the drafts might be. In the end Sheldon kept his end of the sofa and we angled the two sofas in an ell shape, which actually put his spot pretty much the center of the room. We went through similar processes in the office and our bedroom. Thankfully, Sheldon didn't feel the same need in the living room, and we left everything where the decorator put it.

So settling in definitely took some time and a lot of effort. We had new routines and a new life. Many of our old restaurants wouldn't deliver to the new neighborhood, so we even had to find new restaurants. Each change was difficult for Sheldon, and therefore difficult for me. We continued with Halo night and double date night, but the rest of the old schedule was set aside in favor of a new schedule. I cooked four nights a week and we only ordered in when Raj and Howard would be joining us. Laundry was no longer limited to one night a week. Since there was only one washer and one dryer, it took too long to do all of our laundry in one night. Then again, with the ability to do laundry as needed, it was okay that we couldn't do it all in one night. We could throw in a load before the guys came over for Halo and have it finished by the time we finished playing without worry that anyone would steal our socks.

We both started walking to work a few days a week. If we didn't have appointments after work or we weren't staying late, we usually walked. It was healthier and we were both in favor of using less fossil fuel. It only took about twenty minutes each way and I found that I had a lot more energy on days that we walked.

After six months, I finally felt like we were both comfortable with this new life we had started. And that's when I brought up the topic of children again.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"I have done some research," Sheldon told me when I mentioned children over dinner after work one night. "There are three reputable surrogacy agencies in the area, though two of them are actually in Los Angeles. We have two options for ovum: we can either chose to use the surrogate's ovum or select from a donor bank. I propose we opt for the donor bank as there is a much larger selection, which increases our odds of finding the optimal DNA for our children."

I looked at the report Sheldon had put together with his usual meticulous attention to detail. He had even researched the financial costs of each option. What he was proposing was the most expensive option, but I could see his reasoning.

"Well, that's probably a good idea," I said. "Do we need to go to a separate agency for the egg, or will the agencies you've found handle that part as well?"

"Two of them will handle it," Sheldon said. "One of those two is the one here in Pasadena. They also have the best success rates and top ranked medical staff at the fertility clinic with which they work."

"So, we'll apply there first," I said as I got up to clear the table. Sheldon got up and carried his own dished to the dish washer.

"The only drawback in any of this is the fact that we cannot combine our DNA," Sheldon sighed. "I asked around the biology research labs and they said that the technology is still not viable."

"So, whose sperm do we use?" I asked.

"There have been cases where both male parents have donated and allowed nature to decide," Sheldon said. "Though that is not the norm."

"We could do that," I said. "Or we could take turns. I think we both want two children, right?"

"Two would be optimal from a parenting perspective," Sheldon said. "Though there is some argument that three is better for sibling relationships."

"Well, let's see if they'll let us mix our donations and then decide from there," I said. We finished cleaning up and headed back to the family room. I picked up the report from the dinner table on the way before joining Sheldon on the sofa. "Are we ready for this financially?"

"As you can see from the budget I prepared, we are indeed more than ready to take on this financial responsibility," Sheldon said. "It will mean redirecting two of our investment accounts temporarily in order to pay for the agency fees, the remuneration of the surrogate and the medical care. But once the surrogacy costs are covered, those accounts can be directed back to the children's educational account."

I glanced at the budget and shook my head. "I'm still not sure how you do it, but I'm glad you do. Our net worth has more than tripled in the last five years. And that's before you add in the various prizes we've won between us."

"You could easily do the same," Sheldon said. "It is merely the application of various algorithms."

"I might be able to do it if I had your algorithms," I conceded. "But you came up with those algorithms. I'm just not as good with money as you are. Which is why I'm so lucky to have you." I leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"So, back to the baby issue," Sheldon said. "We are married, we are prepared financially, and we have a house; is there anything else we need to do before we approach the agency?"

I shook my head. "I think anything else can be handled after the surrogate is pregnant."

"Good," Sheldon said. "In that case, I'll call tomorrow and make an appointment for us. Do you have any preferences as far as times or days?"

"You have access to my calendar," I said. "So whenever you can get us in is good with me."

We sat back and Sheldon wrapped his arms around me. He was so much more comfortable with casual affection by then. We were both silent for a few minutes as we contemplated the next major change coming our way.


	12. Part Twelve: The Road to Parenthood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the delay in posting. My internet went out this weekend so I had to wait until I got to work to post this chapter. Just FYI, there are only two more chapters after this. Hope you all enjoy the concluding chapters of this story! Jules

**Part Twelve: The Road to Parenthood**

There was a long process involved in being matched up with a surrogate. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the woman would have a lot of say in how things would go, since it was her body, but that really seemed to come as a surprise to Sheldon. He wanted guarantees that the woman would follow a strict diet and exercise regimen. He wanted to be present for all of the sonograms. He wanted a lot of things that most of the surrogates found either weird or intrusive. In the end, however, we found a woman who was a few years older than us. Sherry had gotten married right out of high school and had three children while she was still very young. She and her husband were active in the several LGBT organizations as they both had siblings who were gay and suspected that their oldest son was as well. They decided that they wanted to do this for a couple who couldn't have children of their own otherwise. Sherry was very patient with Sheldon, and she was already very health-conscious. Plus, she didn't even blink when Sheldon asked her to let the fetus listen to classical music for an hour every day. In fact, she had told him that she had done the same with each of her children.

Finding the perfect egg donor was even harder. After looking through long lists of possible candidates for almost two weeks, we were both discouraged. Sheldon even suggested asking either Leslie Winkle or Amy Farrah-Fowler. Before we had to resort to that, however, the director forwarded a list of new possible donors and we found the right one. She was a student at Cal-Tech, a doctoral candidate in theoretical mathematics. Though the donors were anonymous, based on her profile we were both able to identify her rather easily. There just weren't that many doctoral students in math. She was young and brilliant and quite beautiful. She had long curly light-brown hair and bright green eyes. She was smart and beautiful and had a reasonably healthy family history.

The clinic was actually pretty supportive of the idea of the two of us mixing our sperm since we both tested as equally viable. They said it helped both parents bond with the fetus even before birth. So when the time came, we went to a sterile room and did what needed to be done. Unlike our failed attempt at sperm donation, we actually helped each other relax and literally gave each other a hand. It was kind of romantic in a weird, clinical way. We were making our baby together.

The eggs were fertilized and then implanted in Sherry. It was typical for the doctors to implant multiple embryos since that increased the odds of one or two embryos actually attaching and growing. For that reason, it wasn't unusual to have multiple births when invetro-fertilization was used. So it wasn't a complete surprise when the doctors told us that Sherry was carrying twins. It was statistically probable that those twins would be fraternal because of the way they were conceived. It was also possible that the twins could have different fathers.

Though Raj and Howard knew of our plans, we didn't tell anyone else, including our families, until Sherry had passed the first trimester and everything seemed to be going well. In fact, up until that point, we didn't even really talk much about it ourselves. We both knew the statistics about miscarriages and the likelihood that the first attempt would yield positive results was not great. But Sherry made it through the first 13 weeks and we were invited to the next appointment to see the sonogram. Suddenly, what was only a concept became very real as we watched the tiny fetuses move around on the view screen.

We walked out of that office in a daze and didn't talk at all the entire trip home. It wasn't until I had put the sonogram picture up on the refrigerator door that Sheldon seemed to wake up.

"Why did you do that?" Sheldon asked.

I shrugged. "It just seemed like the thing to do. I mean, we can look at them every time we come over here for food. Unless you have someplace else you'd like to put them?"

"That will do for now, I suppose," Sheldon said. "Perhaps we should look for a scrapbook to keep track of milestones. The twins might like to see it when they grow up. My mother kept a scrapbook for me and each of my siblings."

"I'd like to see that sometime," I told him. "And we can do a scrapbook if you want. We'll just keep the most recent picture up here and move it to the scrapbook when we get a new one. Okay?"

Sheldon nodded and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "We should tell our mothers."

"We probably should," I agreed reluctantly. "And we'll need to start thinking about setting up a nursery. Though some things will have to wait until we know what sex the babies are. We don't want to paint the walls pink if we're having two boys."

"I'm not fond of gender specific colors," Sheldon said with a slight frown. We both walked over to the sofa in the family room and sat down.

"Well, I suppose we could stick to gender neutral colors for the walls," I said. "I like green or yellow. But the bedding and clothes and other stuff tends to be geared to one or the other."

"Memaw will probably want to make quilts for their beds," Sheldon said.

"That will be nice," I said and genuinely meant it. We still used the quilt she had made for us for our wedding. She had even used colors that went with the bedding we had picked out in our registry.

"I'm going to call my mother and Memaw now," Sheldon said decisively as he pulled out his cell phone.

Mary and Memaw were both thrilled with the news. My own mother was as pleased as I had ever heard her, though that was still rather subdued compared to most people. I didn't bother to call my father or my siblings. My mother would tell them and I just couldn't be bothered. None of the three of them had bothered to come visit me since I had moved to California, other than to attend my wedding. We weren't close like Sheldon was with his family. Sheldon called Missy and George Jr. the same evening as he called Mary and Memaw.

We promised Mary and my mother that we would send the digital copies of the sonogram that the doctor had given us. Memaw made us promise to let her handle the bedding for the babies and to let her know as soon as we knew the sexes. Mary and Memaw were also avid knitters, so I expected that we would have plenty of blankets and sweaters with matching hats and booties for the babies by the time they were born.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

At twenty weeks, we attended Sherry's sonogram and found out that we were having a boy and a girl. I was ecstatic, but Sheldon took it in his usual stoic fashion at first. It wasn't until after we had called our mothers and Memaw that he started to panic a little.

"What does either of us know about raising a girl?" Sheldon asked. I could tell he was truly distraught because his accent was thick, as though he had just spent a week at home in Texas.

"Well, we both have sisters," I said. "And we can always ask our mothers how to handle something. Besides, how different can it be?"

"Missy was very different from me," Sheldon said.

"Well, that's because Missy was…" I wanted to say normal, but I knew better. "Listen, we'll handle anything that comes up. Boys play with action figures and girls play with dolls. It's not that different."

"We'll see," Sheldon said ominously.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Sheldon was a lot less reluctant about registering for the babies than he had been about our wedding. We had done a bit of research about what a baby needs and went to the store armed with a list. I had even asked Mary about which items would normally be bought by friends and family and which we should plan to buy ourselves, so we were definitely ready. Even so, the baby store was huge and there was just so much stuff that we eventually had to ask for help from the woman at the registry counter. A mother herself, she was able to give us some good advice before sending us off to browse the aisles.

"Your mother said she would buy the cribs," Sheldon reminded me as I looked at the furniture.

"Yes, but she said we should pick out what we want," I told him. "She said we should choose the furniture and put it on the registry and she'll purchase it online. She also hinted that she was going to guilt my father into buying some of the other items, like the changing table or dressers."

"My mother said that she would buy the stroller," Sheldon said.

"And Memaw is buying the matching car seat," I said. "I know and those items aren't on our list."

"So, how do we decide which furniture set we like?" Sheldon asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe we should try to find one that is similar to the furniture that the decorator picked out for the rest of the house?"

"So brown," Sheldon said. "There are a lot of brown sets."

"Not just brown," I said. "Dark brown. She called it espresso. Like that over there." I led the way to a set of furniture with very clean lines and silver accents.

"I think the color is right, but the style…" Sheldon shook his head. "I don't think so."

"You're right," I said. "It's too modern."

It took us another fifteen minutes of browsing before we found a furniture line that we liked in the right finish. It was solid wood furniture, so it would last for a long time. The crib was designed to convert to a toddler bed and then to a twin, so we wouldn't have to replace it when the babies outgrew the crib. The changing table was actually just an addition to a dresser, so it could be removed when it wasn't needed any longer. There were even matching shelves and a nightstand.

Next we hit the diaper aisle and ran into a bit of a problem. "But disposable diapers are much more hygienic."

I sighed. "They also take up a lot of room in the landfills and are more expensive in the long run. Even after the initial purchase of diapers and accessories and factoring in laundry costs, it will be a lot less expensive to use cloth diapers. And it really isn't any less hygienic than disposable diapers. You'll still have to get up close and personal with baby poop."

Sheldon looked horrified for a moment before he sighed. "Fine. We'll do it your way, but just know that I reserve the right to gloat if this doesn't work."

I grinned at him. "You go right ahead, because you'll see that this isn't as bad as you think." I showed him to the selection of reusable diapers. "See, there's the cover part and then the liner which is what actually absorbs liquid and whatnot. And there are options for disposable and cloth liners. So if we're out or the baby is at daycare or something, we can use the disposable liner but when we're at home, we can use the cloth one."

"They have disposable liners?" Sheldon asked with interest. From there on, it was much smoother sailing. We were able to pick out the brand of covers and liners we liked best and put them on the registry.

We added bottles and the many accessories to the registry, as well as a diaper bag, a pack-and-play, a few toys and a baby swing. Sheldon insisted on adding a baby first aid kit along with a wide selection of other health items. Then we started picking out clothes and other items. Sheldon seemed reluctant to have any input on our daughter's wardrobe, but he had plenty to say about our son's. Personally, I found it strangely satisfying to pick out frilly pink outfits. We found the sleep sacks that one article I read recommended, and added a few swaddling blankets to the list. We hit the bathing aisle and were floored by the vast selection of products, but eventually added a bathtub, towels and wash cloths.

When we found the safety aisle, Sheldon went a bit overboard, but I didn't really object. He put safety gates on the list, followed by outlet covers, door and drawer latches, toilet seat locks and a top-rated baby monitor.

When we were finally finished, the same woman was at the registry desk and she smiled when she saw the extensive list. "When is the baby shower?"

"Two months," I said. "It was the only time both of our mothers could make it out here. That only leaves a month before the twins are born."

"Well, it looks like you've covered just about everything," she said. "And you'll have time to get anything that others don't. And it looks like you found a few things to buy today?"

"Who knew that there was Star Trek baby stuff?" I asked.

Sheldon was clutching plush Spock and Kirk bears and four Star Trek onesies. My favorite was the plush Enterprise that actually lit up.

"We also found superhero onesies," Sheldon said. He held up Wonder Woman, Cat Woman, Batman and Superman onesies for the woman to see. "Although I was disappointed to see that neither the Green Lantern nor the Flash was represented."

"We should go check out," I said and dragged Sheldon away from the woman before he could lecture her on the importance of the Green Lantern in comic book lore.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

I was actually really surprised at the baby shower. Not that we had one, but that so many people came. It wasn't just our closest friends and family, as I had expected. My mother and Mary had talked to Howard and Raj and they had invited most of the people at CalTech… or most of the ones we worked with regularly. Even Penny got an invite and actually came.

Actually, I was pretty thrilled that she had come. We kept in touch, talking on the phone almost every week, but rarely got to see each other. Sheldon and I had gone out for her college graduation, but hadn't seen her since. She had started working as a first grade teacher the fall before and absolutely loved her job. While we caught up, I also found out that she was getting pretty serious about a guy. Unlike most of her past boyfriends, this one was actually both nice and successful. His name was David and he was a senior director of finance for a software manufacturer. He and I had met at her graduation and had talked for a while about some of the programs his company was putting out, but the two of them had just started dating then and I hadn't really expected it to last. But, more than a year later and she was actually talking about marrying the guy and starting a family.

Aside from catching up with Penny, the shower was pretty interesting. Mary insisted that we play some games; though, since it wasn't a traditional shower, she couldn't really ask Sherry to let them measure her stomach or do any of the other embarrassing things they do in those games. Instead, she stuck with simple pick out the baby picture and name that nursery rhyme. I think everyone was grateful for that.

Unlike at our wedding, we actually got to open the gifts while everyone was there. Because of the large number of guests, we actually got almost everything on our registry, and we got a few things we hadn't put on there, like the mobiles for the babies' cribs. Raj and Howard had found mobiles that were actually made of replicas of atomic particles.

Everyone was very impressed with the quilts and bedding that Memaw made for the twins. Both had various shades of green as the primary color, but the girl's had pinks and light purples and the boy's had blues and yellows. There were matching bumpers for the cribs and she had even sewn curtains that coordinated with both quilts. She and Mary had both knitted blankets and a number of other items as well. Plus they had bought the double stroller and two cars seats/carriers. My mother bought the cribs and she had successfully guilted my father into buying the rest of the nursery furniture. All of that had been delivered the week before. Missy surprised us both with matching rockers. She knew a guy who built furniture and had the chairs custom made. The finish matched our selected furniture, and the quality of the work was amazing. Besides the mobiles, Raj and Howard also bought us the baby swings. And it seemed like no matter what else they brought, everyone had to buy at least one outfit for the babies as well.

By the time everyone left, having had their fill of food and cake, we were pretty much set for when the babies arrived. We had gotten the diaper covers and cloth liners, as well as a two month supply of the disposable liners as well. We had even received a selection of soaps and lotions for the baby, much to my relief since neither of us really knew what to buy.

But when the shower was over, everyone went back to their lives, and Sheldon and I were left to wait anxiously for the birth of our children.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

We got the call from Sherry's husband at six in the morning. She had gone into labor overnight and they were at the hospital. We rushed to get there and then waited for hours for something to happen. And waited. And waited.

The agreement was that we would wait until Sherry went into active labor, just before the babies came, before going into the room. So Sheldon and I attempted to stay calm and take our minds off of everything by going head to head on our PSPs in the waiting room. Then we messed around on our phones. Then we went back to the PSPs.

At around three in the afternoon, Sherry's husband Jake came to tell us that after twelve hours of nonproductive labor that the doctor decided to do a C-section. Only one person was allowed in the room for that and we all agreed it should be Jake.

And so we waited for a while longer.

Finally, we were called into a small room to meet our babies. We were told that Sherry was in recovery and doing just fine, but my mind was totally consumed by the babies in the little clear plastic bassinets in front of us. I glanced at Sheldon who seemed to be frozen.

"We should pick them up," I said. "Begin the bonding process."

"What if I drop it?" Sheldon said quietly.

"You won't," I told him. "Do you want the boy or girl?"

"I don't think it matters," Sheldon said. "At this point, their sex is irrelevant."

I rolled my eyes where he couldn't see me and picked up the one closest to me. Then I walked over to my husband and put the baby in his arms. Finally, I picked up the other baby and held him.

"She's beautiful," Sheldon said with awe after a few moments. He was stroking our daughter's cheek while she blinked sleepily up at him. "Did you notice her hair? She's definitely yours. There are no curls in my family."

"The donor had curly hair," I said. "It could come from her."

"Perhaps," Sheldon said. "Should we have them tested?"

"Does it really matter?" I asked. "I mean, we won't love them any more or less."

"It would be helpful to understand their medical history," Sheldon said. "For instance, if our daughter does take after you, there is a higher probability that she will suffer from lactose intolerance and therefore we should give her soy-based formula."

I considered his reasoning and finally shrugged. "We should be able to tell from their blood types. You're O negative and I'm AB positive. Sherry is A positive."

Sheldon looked down at the small card that was on the girl's bed. "B positive. She is definitely yours."

I looked at the card on the boy's bed. "He's O positive. So definitely yours."

"Huh," Sheldon said. "It seems unlikely that they would successfully develop from different fathers."

"They need names," I said as I let our son grasp my pinkie. He was so damned cute.

We had discussed possible names, but hadn't really come to any conclusions. Sheldon insisted that we should wait until we saw the babies to make the decision. I'm not sure why seeing them made a difference, but it wasn't really worth arguing over.

"She looks like a Lucy, doesn't she?" Sheldon asked as he held our daughter up for me to see.

"Lucy," I said as I considered the name. "I like it. How about Abigail for a middle name?"

"Lucy Abigail Hofstadter-Cooper," Sheldon said with obvious approval. "And what about him?"

I looked down at our son and smiled. "Steven. I think he looks like a Steven."

Sheldon considered the name and then nodded. "Steven Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple. Though I despise the monopolistic tendencies of the resulting corporate giant, their contributions to furthering technology are indisputable. Steven it is."

"What do you want to give him for a middle name?" I asked.

"Xavier," Sheldon said. "Steven Xavier Hofstadter-Cooper."

"I like it," I told him. "And I love you and Steven and Lucy."

"I share your sentiments," Sheldon said.


	13. Part Thirteen: Growing Up Genius

**Part Thirteen: Growing Up Genius**

Despite Sheldon's fears about raising a daughter, it soon became obvious that he doted on Lucy. It wasn't to the point of being neglectful of Steven, but he was always just a tad more intent on Lucy. Having said that, I have to admit that I tended to favor Steven, so it all worked out, really.

The early days of our life with our children were fraught with insecurity and fear. Neither of us had much, if any, experience with babies, and it showed. We panicked the first time Lucy came down with a fever. When Steven started teething, we were both nearly as inconsolable as he was. Sheldon wanted to make him tea. But eventually we got the hang of things.

I took family leave for the first two months and during that time, Sheldon worked from home several days a week. By the time I went back to work, we had found a nanny that Sheldon actually trusted. Believe me when I tell you it took the entire two months to accomplish that small miracle.

Sheldon not only continued to keep a scrapbook but he also started blogging about every little change and accomplishment that the twins made. He included photos and videos. It got to the point that I actually had to limit the number of entries he was allowed to post in a week. Having said that, both my mother and his were regular readers of the blog and it made keeping them informed of the changes in the twins' lives pretty easy.

It wasn't surprising that our children ended up being smart. Okay, smart is not the word. They were frickin' geniuses. By the time they were three, they could recite the entire periodic table, do complex math, and read at a third grade level. Sheldon insisted that we have them tested and we found out that they both shared his eidetic memory.

When I found that out, I had nightmares for a week of our twins becoming exactly like Sheldon. As a result I insisted that we enroll them in preschool where they could learn to interact with other children. That began a month long battle between Sheldon and I—complete with slammed doors and parenting contracts being tossed around—but eventually he found a school that dealt with gifted children who would accept them early. And since they weren't the only three year old kindergarteners, they did actually learn to socialize, much to my relief.

Sending them to that school was actually a blessing, even though it was a lot further away than the elementary school near our house. Lucy and Steven really loved their class and their teacher. They made friends and had play-dates. And Sheldon and I met other parents who were going through the same dilemmas we were experiencing; like how do we balance the intellectual growth with physical and emotional growth?

Well, truth be told, I was the one struggling with how to keep balance. Sheldon was happy to simply nurture their minds and leave it at that. But I had the teacher, the other parents, and even the school counselor on my side. Which is why, when they were five years old, Sheldon and I encouraged Steven and Lucy to join some form of team sport of their choice. I also encouraged them to take some sort of fine or performing arts lessons. Steven chose dance and soccer. Lucy chose basketball, since it was a much shorter season and that gave her more time to take both art and piano lessons.

Of course with all those activities, I spent a lot of time chauffeuring the twins around. I was still working, and I actually was doing some pretty impressive work, but I was no longer in a rush to prove myself. Sheldon, on the other hand, was trying to stay on top of his game. He wanted to prove to the scientific community that his work on relativity wasn't a onetime fluke. Which was why he was back to string theory.

With as much effort as he was putting in at work, I was surprised when he insisted on attending all of the kids' games and recitals. He might not be the one to take them to rehearsals and practices, but he was a lot more supportive of their non-academic achievements than I would have ever guessed.

In short, our family was actually a lot more normal than I would have ever imagined it could be.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

It was on a Sunday afternoon in June when Lucy and Steven came running into the house to tell me about the moving van in front of the house across the cul de sac. They said that they saw a kid's bike and wanted to bring cookies over for the new neighbors and meet their kid. Personally, I thought it was just an excuse to get me to make cookies, but I didn't really mind. In fact, I rather enjoyed baking with the twins.

A couple hours later, after the moving truck had driven away, the entire family walked across the circle. Sheldon had been guilted away from his computer by Lucy and was grumbling a bit, but we had fresh cookies to offer our new neighbors as a welcome.

Of course, I don't think any of us were prepared for who answered the front door.

"Aunt Penny!" Lucy and Steven exclaimed.

"Penny?" I said with shock evident in my tone and on my face.

"Good Lord," Sheldon sighed.

And that was how we discovered that Penny, David and their daughter Lily had moved across from us. David had been offered a promotion to head up his company's LA office so they had packed up and made the move. It was Penny's idea to surprise us.

"So Lily will be starting kindergarten and I'll be teaching at the elementary school around the corner this fall," Penny explained.

Lily, Steven and Lucy had gone off to explore Lily's new room and Sheldon was helping David unpack his office. Penny and I were camped out in the kitchen, putting together sandwiches for everyone.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us," I scolded. "I can't believe you bought the house across from us either."

"Is it a good surprise?" Penny asked.

"The best surprise," I told her. "But just so you know, the twins are going to start recruiting Lily to attend their sports and after-school lessons. Since they won't go to the same school, it's pretty inevitable that they'll try to get her involved some other way."

"David and I had already talked about that with Lily before we made the move," Penny shrugged. "It's not like she hasn't been hearing about that stuff from them for the past two years. I think she wants to do soccer with Steven and art lessons with Lucy. But she could change her mind. And that's okay. We can afford a few lessons, especially with this promotion David just got. And we can take turns shuttling the kids around."

I gave Penny a hug. "I'm so glad you're here. Welcome back to Oz Dorothy."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Penny and I shared carpooling duties in the months and years that followed. As I had predicted, the twins quickly got Lily involved in all their activities. I loved the chance to really get to know Lily and see her and the twins' bond grow even deeper. What had started as brief visits a couple times a year grew into a bond that would rival any siblings. We were all family, whether there was shared blood or not.

It was truly amazing to watch the three of them interact. Lily was so outgoing and confident. Steven was more introverted. Lucy was kind of the happy medium. But they all three worked together to deal with everything. Together, they solved problems from how to get Lucy's kite out of the tree in our backyard to playground bullies. The twins knew more about how to have friends and be friends at five years old than I did when I moved in with Sheldon.

Lily was so much like Penny in a lot of ways. She had common sense in spades and could charm just about anyone with a smile. But she also had her dad's brain. She might not have been as smart as the twins, but she was one of the smartest kids in her class.

The twins continued at their special school and were doing high school level work before leaving elementary school. They had surpassed many of their classmates intellectually, but I was happy to note that they weren't tormented or teased for being smart. And they didn't hold themselves above their peers, even if they were light-years ahead of them academically. Between the fact that they had grown up in classes where everyone was treated equally and the fact that their best friend had proved over and over that being the smartest didn't always mean you had the best answers, they had somehow learned what Sheldon still struggled to understand.

But there came a day when Sheldon and I had to sit down and decide what to do next. The twins had reached the age when most children were graduating from elementary school, on the cusp of becoming teenagers, but they had reached the end of what could be taught outside of a college setting. Their school had allowed them to move at their own pace, but the school could really only teach them through high school curriculum. Which meant that we had to decide whether they should continue at their current school, essentially doing independent study projects to stay busy, or start college at the ripe old age of 12.

"I went to college when I was 12," Sheldon said. "I was perfectly fine."

"You didn't have any friends," I reminded him.

Sheldon sighed. He had grown to appreciate the value of friendship over the years. "I know. But I thought that the point of getting them involved in extracurricular activities was so that they would have friendships outside of the academic classroom."

I nodded. "True. And they do have more friends than either of us did at that age."

"So?" Sheldon prompted. He always did like to be right; no matter how long we'd been together, he still got a thrill from besting me in some way. It wasn't quite as annoying as it used to be, but…

"So, I think we should talk to the twins and let them have some input," I finally said. "If they want to keep going to school with their friends, we let them. If they want to go to college, then we discuss how we can make that work."

Sheldon nodded eagerly. "I spoke to the dean of admissions already. If they want to go to CalTech, then they've got a place for the fall."

I sighed. Of course my husband had already talked to the dean of admissions.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"We want to go to college," Lucy stated firmly, as I knew she would. She and Sheldon had been talking about college since the twins were toddlers. To her, it was just another adventure. Steven, however, didn't look quite as happy at the prospect.

"I don't know," Steven finally said. "It will mean leaving our friends behind and starting something new. There won't be any kids our age around and the people in college won't be like the kids we go to school with. They'll look at us funny and might even make fun of us. Plus, I don't want to go off to some college and be away from you guys."

"Well, if you did decide to go to college, you could go to Cal-Tech," I told him. I wasn't as sold on the idea as Sheldon, but I didn't want to hold them back because of fear. They would have to learn at some point how to deal with being seen as different. "You could go to school with your papa and me. And if you wanted, you could even hang out in my office between classes."

Steven looked at me. "Dad, do you think we should try it?"

It was pretty obvious that Steven knew Sheldon's opinion on the matter. Hell, anyone could tell that Sheldon was completely gung-ho at the idea. "I think you should do what you want. But I don't think that fear of change should hold you back. If I let your papa's fear of change hold us back, we wouldn't have the two of you. Sometimes it's important to face our fears because something good can come from it. If you don't think you're ready, that's fine. If you want to spend a couple more years with your friends, that's fine too. But don't make your decision based on fear. Okay?"

Lucy, of course, had to put in her two cents. "Besides, like Daddy said, we'll be on the same campus as him and Papa. We'll know some people, like Uncle Raj and Uncle Howard and Dr. Amy. And we can learn lots of new stuff. Aren't you bored with the stuff they teach us at school? I am."

"Yeah, I guess," Steven shrugged. "Okay. I'll give it a try. I can still play soccer and dance classes, right?"

"Of course," Sheldon said. "And when you get a little older, I'm sure you could try out for the school team if you wanted. Perhaps as a graduate student."

"One degree at a time," I reminded my overenthusiastic husband. I turned back to the twins. "And if you find that you aren't ready after a semester, we can reevaluate. Nothing is set in stone. We just want you to be happy."

**SLSLSLSLSL**

It wasn't really a surprise that the kids did spectacularly in their first semester. It was a surprise that Lucy had more trouble adjusting to the new routine than Steven. Steven, with his quiet demeanor, simply sat back and observed his peers until he found ways to interact with them on their level. He began attending study groups and slowly built friendships with a couple of other students. Lucy, on the other hand, was used to just being outgoing and making friends that way. When the students found her "cute" and didn't take her seriously, she wasn't really sure how to react. But by the end of the semester, Steven had begun taking her to his study groups and she found acceptance.

College life wasn't easy for a couple of 12 year old kids. They did get looks from most of the students in their classes. They did sometimes have to deal with the insecurities of their peers. But I had to admit that Sheldon was right; despite the difficulties, they blossomed under the academic freedom that college offered. Their first two years were spent simply exploring every topic and subject they could think of. They didn't declare majors until their junior year. By that time, they had each accumulated enough credits to minor in several subjects and it was anyone's guess what they would choose.

When they did announce their majors, Sheldon was both pleased and perplexed. Both of them decided to major in more than one subject. They weren't in any real hurry to graduate and, since they qualified for academic scholarships as well as scholarships for being related to faculty, money wasn't really a consideration either. Steven chose to major in biology, physics and history with a minor in computer science. Lucy decided to major in psychology, mathematics and physics with a minor in sociology. Sheldon couldn't understand why either of them would "waste time" on liberal arts or what he considered to be soft sciences. He was thrilled, however, that they each showed interest in physics.

For the first two years of college, they took almost all the same courses, sticking together while they got used to the new school. But once they chose their fields, they found that they could share very few of their courses. Really, the only classes they had in common were physics and a few math courses. They had always been rather different from each other, though they were extremely close. But through their early education, they had been together at all times except for their after school activities. Adjusting to being separated was almost as difficult as adjusting to college.

They graduated with their undergraduate degrees when they were seventeen and began on their masters degrees right away. Lucy went for Physics and Engineering. Steven went for physics and biology. Sheldon was pleased this time that they had left behind what he considered irrelevant subjects. Personally, I worried that their choices might have had something to do with Sheldon's attitude until one day Lucy and Steven told me otherwise.

Sheldon was working late again on his latest theory, one that he hoped would finally prove his life's work, so I decided to take the kids out to dinner. Lucy brought up the fact that I had been quiet about their choice in subjects since they had announced their intentions the month before. Her degree in psychology really helped her read people, much to my sometime annoyance.

"It's not that I don't think you chose well," I assured them. "I just worry that your papa influenced your decision a little more than he should have."

Steven grinned at me. "We all know how Papa feels about soft sciences, Dad. But that isn't why I chose physics and biology. I chose them because I really like the subjects and I can imagine doing research and stuff for the rest of my life. I don't think I'll ever get bored with learning how the universe works on a large and small scale and how that translates into how life evolved on this planet in particular."

"And I want to see how all of Papa's theories, and all of your experiments can be translated into real life applications," Lucy said. "I want to find ways to make the theoretical practical."

"Plus, we both have the chance to work with you and Papa," Steven said. "At least for now. We've both been getting recruited by other universities to do our doctoral work."

"But we have a couple years to make decisions about that," Lucy said.

I sighed, knowing that my babies were almost grown up. I hated the thought of them leaving home, even though if they had gone to regular schools their whole life that they would soon be graduating from high school and would probably have gone off to college anyway.

"Let's not bring that up with your papa, yet," I told them. "Tell me about the prom."

For the next hour, they told me all about attending Lily's prom. Steven had taken Lily and Lucy had gone with another friend of theirs, a boy that Lucy and Lily had met through their art class. Though none of them were dating exclusively, it was pretty obvious that the four of them spent an awful lot of time together. Sheldon refused to call it dating, but I had to believe that there was more than just friendship involved, at least where Lucy and Tyler were concerned. I couldn't be sure about Steven and Lily. They had grown up together, almost like cousins, but they weren't really related at all.

The twins were growing up and I wasn't at all sure that either Sheldon or I were ready for that.


	14. Part Fourteen: Life’s Work

**Part Fourteen: Life's Work**

"Leonard."

I looked up at my husband and noted the complete shock on his face as he stood in the doorway to my lab at Cal-Tech. "What's the matter? Is it one of the twins? They aren't hurt?" The twins had both gone off to MIT the year before and, though they called home often and came for all school breaks, I still worried about them being on the opposite end of the country.

Sheldon didn't seem able to answer me. He simply shook his head and handed me a letter. With shaking hands, I took the letter and quickly read through it.

"Sheldon," I said in hushed tones. "This is from the Nobel Foundation."

"I know," Sheldon said. "It…"

I looked up at my husband with a huge smile. "They're awarding you're the prize for physics for your work on relativity!"

"I…"

Sheldon still didn't seem capable of speech, so I simply wrapped him up in my arms and held him. "I'm so proud of you," I whispered in his ear.

The prize was actually awarded to both Sheldon and Raj, due to their combined efforts, but that mattered little in the grand scheme of things. On the 10th of December, Sheldon and Raj stood up on a stage in Stockholm and accepted the highest honor that any scientist could ever hope to receive. The twins had flown over from Massachusetts to support their father. Howard was there. Mary and my mother both came. Even Penny came, though David had to skip and Lily wasn't able to get away because of her college finals. Sheldon looked absolutely radiant as he stood up there and accepted his due respect.

There was money that came with the prize, but that wasn't really the important part. It was more important to Sheldon to be recognized for the work he had accomplished. Though it was twenty years after he published his work, it meant more to him than any of the awards he had received at the time.

And rightfully so. This award would mean that everyone in our field would know his name. Everyone would recognize his achievement. Everyone would see what I had always known: that Sheldon was one of those exceptional minds that are so rare that even geniuses knew them to be extraordinary.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

While accepting the Nobel Prize was a highlight in his career, it was not the end of Sheldon's need to prove himself. In the years that followed, he went back to work on string theory and when Lucy and Steven both received their PhDs (in Engineering and Physics and Biology and Physics respectively), they accepted positions at CalTech and went to work with their father. Meanwhile, I was making small but steady contributions to my field, garnering recognition, but never in the league that my husband or my children were playing.

Three years after the twins went to work with Sheldon, the three of them came home after work one night, all bearing huge grins.

"We did it," Sheldon told me. "We solved it."

"You proved string theory?" I asked.

"Not quite," Steven said wryly. "But we broke through the barrier that was keeping us from proving it."

"It's just a matter of time before we come up with the final proof," Lucy stated. "And we think you might actually be able to help there."

"We need more data," Sheldon said.

And so, over dinner and for several hours afterward, they explained what they needed and I began considering what I could do to provide the data they needed. We brainstormed ideas and reviewed the findings that we had collected many years before on our trip to the North Pole.

The next day, and the next week, and the next month were filled with discussions and ideas. Lucy was able to point out the flaws in our methodology back then and come up with solutions. The advances in technology meant that another trip would be a little easier and likely a lot more productive. While Lucy and I worked on the practical end of things, Steven and Sheldon worked on refining the theoretical side. And when it was all done, we wrote out our theories and went looking for funding for the trip.

It took nearly six months to get everything in place, but eventually we all packed up our bags and headed north.

It was a family adventure, living out on the ice for three months. At times, it was almost as bad as when Sheldon and I went with Howard and Raj. Steven and Lucy were both adults and used to living on their own. They were also brilliant minds in their own right. Living with their papa again could, at times, be trying, especially when he refused to listen to anyone else's ideas. But we muddled trough.

More importantly, we were able to gather the data we needed to prove string theory once and for all. We even duplicated our findings multiple times.

We returned to civilization and presented our findings, first to our peers at the university and then to the world. The night we received the journal of Physics with our paper published as the featured article, Sheldon cried. I knew how he felt. This was his life's work. This was what he had striven to prove for more than thirty years. This was everything and it was finally done. In a way it was a relief, but in a way, it was frightening. What would he do now? He didn't have to tell me any of that. I knew him better than I knew myself.

The weeks and months that followed were filled with interviews and awards. Our family was featured in People Magazine and Time Magazine. Lucy was offered a position leading a research group at MIT. Steven was offered a job with a private research group that was looking into the origins of human intelligence and why life developed the way it had. I was offered the position as the head of Physics Research at the university and accepted the promotion.

Sheldon got many offers, more than any of the rest of us, but refused them all. He did, however, delight in the increase in funding he received for his work. The donors were coming out of the woodwork to support his research. He was able to not only keep a small team of physicists but work on pretty much any idea that came to his head.

Despite that, however, Sheldon struggled in the months that followed. When the press died out and the children had gone off to their new lives, Sheldon was left feeling uncertain for the first time in his life.

"Leonard, what do I do now?" he asked me one night, long after we had turned out the lights for the night.

"I'm not sure," I told him. "But one thing I am sure of is that you'll figure it out. Just give it time. There are other theories to be proven and problems to be solved. Just because you answered two of them doesn't mean that there aren't more out there."

"It's just that those are the two I've been working on since I was 12," Sheldon said. "And now I'm 53 years old, way too young to retire, and yet I have no idea what to do now."

"Like I said, give it time," I told him. "Maybe you should look to your new team for ideas. Or read through the journals. I'm sure it will come to you. In the meantime, just enjoy what you have accomplished."

"I'll try," Sheldon said.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

Sheldon did eventually figure it out. In the years that followed, he never had another breakthrough like he had with relativity or string theory, but he did contribute to the field in smaller ways. In fact, his theories and postulates fueled the work of many up and coming physicists.

When Sheldon was 67 and I was 66, we went into semi-retirement. Steven and Lily had three little girls together and Lucy and her husband James had two boys and a girl. We wanted to spend more time with them and perhaps travel a bit. Sheldon never stopped working entirely. He would publish papers and work with the team that continued to thrive under one of Sheldon's apprentices. But we did have more time to travel and see the kids and grandkids.

In fact, we were at Lucy's house when we were contacted by the Nobel Foundation. All four of us were to receive the Nobel Prize. I was beside myself with joy, but I also knew that I never would have gotten there without Sheldon. Steven and Lucy, perhaps, but never me. That didn't change the fact that I was proud of what we had all accomplished together.

The media made a big deal out of the fact that we were family. It was the first time ever that four people from the same family were awarded the prize together. There had been two people—parent and child, spouses and brothers—but never two parents and two children. It was also a pretty big deal that Sheldon was accepting his second prize. He was only the fifth individual to receive multiple prizes.

This time, when we all travelled to Stockholm, it was without Mary or my mother—my mother had passed away a few years before and Mary was too unwell for the trip—but all six grandchildren were there. Penny and David had come along with Raj and Howard. It was our family and they were proud of our accomplishment.

**SLSLSLSLSL**

"I always knew you would win a Nobel Prize one day," Sheldon told me in the hotel that night. We were snuggled up in bed together. Though we were long past the hot and heavy days of sex every night, we still loved to cuddle. (And we did still like sex; it just took a bit more effort by then.)

I had to laugh at that. "You did not. You always said I wouldn't. And you were right. I never would have won this without you and the kids. But I'm selfish enough to accept it anyway."

"We never would have won it without you," Sheldon said. "It was your experiments that gave us the data we needed."

"Perhaps," I said and we were both quiet for a few minutes.

"Do you recall after we returned from the arctic?" Sheldon asked. "I was quite despondent because I felt like I had accomplished the greatest work of my life and had no idea what to do."

"I remember," I told him.

"You never felt that," Sheldon said. "Why?"

"Because my life's work will never be finished," I told him.

"What do you mean?" Sheldon asked.

"I mean, my life's work is not what I do in a laboratory," I said. I leaned up on my elbow so I could look into his face. "My life's work is loving you. My life's work is being a good husband and father and friend. My life's work is giving you and the kids anything you need within my power to give. So, today, I accepted a medal for my life's work. I accepted it for being a support to the three of you. It just so happens that this time what you needed was scientific. But I'm just as happy to cook or listen or help you understand what the heck Jason and Gabriel are talking about when they go on about their video games. You, Sheldon Cooper, are my life's work. And I will never be finished."

Sheldon pulled me down for a deep and passionate kiss, the likes of which I hadn't felt in a long time, and I smirked. It looked like that night was one of those special nights where we could both get it up without a lot of effort. Go me.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Well, boys and girls, thus ends my Sheldon/Leonard love story. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I can't promise that I'll write another story in this fandom (my muse is ADD and easily distracted as the list of stories I have posted so far can attest) but I can say that I love writing and reading about geeky boys finding love. See you all soon! Jules


End file.
